easyMultiple Choice
220-1102 Practice Question: That their virtual desktop in a VDI environment…
A user reports that their virtual desktop in a VDI environment is extremely slow during peak hours. The technician checks the host server and sees that memory utilization is at 95% and CPU is at 80%. Which of the following is the most likely cause of the performance issue?
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA often tests the distinction between memory exhaustion (which causes swapping and severe slowdowns) versus high CPU usage (which causes processing delays but is less impactful on VDI responsiveness), leading candidates to incorrectly focus on CPU as the primary bottleneck.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The host has insufficient memory for the number of VMs
The host's memory utilization at 95% indicates severe memory overcommitment, which forces the hypervisor to use excessive swapping or ballooning to reclaim memory from VMs. This directly causes extreme slowness for all virtual desktops, especially during peak hours when demand is highest. CPU at 80% is high but not as critical as memory exhaustion, which is the primary bottleneck in VDI environments.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The virtual switch is misconfigured
Why it's wrong here
A misconfigured virtual switch causes connectivity or packet-loss faults, not the host-wide memory exhaustion shown at 95%. It is tempting because switch configuration does affect VDI traffic, and it would be correct if desktops suffered intermittent disconnections while host CPU and memory remained low.
- ✓
The host has insufficient memory for the number of VMs
Why this is correct
Memory at 95% on the host is the bottleneck: each VM's configured RAM is reserved, so oversubscription forces hypervisor swapping to disk, degrading every guest during peak load. CPU at 80% remains below saturation, so memory contention, not processing capacity, explains the slowness.
- ✗
The guest OS needs a driver update
Why it's wrong here
A driver update addresses device-level faults, not host resource contention; 95% memory utilisation on the host is the constraint affecting every guest. It is tempting because outdated drivers do degrade performance, and it would be correct if the slowdown affected one desktop with the host showing normal utilisation.
- ✗
The virtual hard disks are not thin-provisioned
Why it's wrong here
Thin provisioning affects storage efficiency, not memory or CPU utilization. It would not explain the high memory usage.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
User Account Control (UAC)
Key term
Hypervisor
A hypervisor is software that creates and runs virtual machines by allowing multiple operating systems to share a single hardware host.
Key term
VDI
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is a technology that hosts desktop operating systems on a central server so users can access their personal desktop environment from any device.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1202 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 220-1202 exam.