CV0-004 Troubleshooting Practice Question
A cloud administrator is managing a multi-tier application in a public cloud. The database tier is hosted on a VM with a persistent disk. Users report that the application is slow, and the administrator notices that disk I/O latency is high. The VM's disk is a standard network-attached storage volume. Which action should the administrator take to improve disk performance?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that increasing disk size or adding memory will solve I/O latency, when the real fix is to change the storage type to a higher-performance option.
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
✓
Change the disk type to a higher-performance SSD-based volume.
High disk I/O latency on a standard network-attached volume indicates that the storage tier is the bottleneck. Upgrading to an SSD-based volume, such as a provisioned IOPS SSD, provides lower latency and higher throughput. This is the most direct and effective way to improve disk performance for a database workload that is sensitive to I/O latency.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Enable read caching on the VM's operating system.
Why it's wrong here
Read caching can help for read-heavy workloads, but if the application is write-heavy or the working set exceeds cache size, it will not resolve high I/O latency. It also does not address the underlying storage performance limits. While caching is a useful optimization, it is not a substitute for faster storage when the volume itself is the bottleneck.
- ✓
Change the disk type to a higher-performance SSD-based volume.
Why this is correct
Standard network-attached storage often has lower IOPS and higher latency compared to SSD-based volumes. Upgrading to a provisioned IOPS SSD or general-purpose SSD volume can significantly reduce latency and increase throughput. This directly addresses the performance bottleneck by providing faster storage media and potentially higher IOPS limits, which is the most effective solution for high disk I/O latency.
- ✗
Increase the size of the disk volume to get higher IOPS.
Why it's wrong here
Increasing disk size may increase IOPS in some cloud providers because IOPS are often tied to volume size, but this is not guaranteed and may not address the root cause if the workload is already optimized. It also increases cost and may not provide the needed performance boost if the volume type has a cap. Without confirming the provider's IOPS-to-size relationship, this is a risky first step.
- ✗
Move the database to a VM with more memory.
Why it's wrong here
Adding memory can improve database performance by increasing cache, but it does not directly fix disk I/O latency. If the bottleneck is storage, more memory may only delay the issue. The administrator should first address the storage tier, as it is the component showing high latency. Increasing memory without changing storage may not yield the expected performance improvement.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official CompTIA exam blueprint
This CV0-004 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 CV0-004 exam.