This CV0-004 practice question tests your understanding of operations and support. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A cloud administrator is troubleshooting a performance issue in a virtualized environment. Which THREE of the following metrics should the administrator analyze to identify potential resource contention? (Select THREE.)
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
CPU ready time
CPU ready time measures the time a virtual machine is ready to execute instructions but is waiting for the hypervisor to schedule physical CPU resources. High ready time directly indicates CPU contention, as the VM is being starved of CPU cycles by other VMs on the same host.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✓
CPU ready time
Why this is correct
High CPU ready time means the VM is waiting for CPU cycles due to contention.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Disk queuing
Why this is correct
Disk queuing indicates I/O requests are waiting, suggesting storage contention.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Swap file usage
Why it's wrong here
Swap usage indicates the VM is using disk as memory, but ballooning is a more direct indicator.
✗
Network latency
Why it's wrong here
Network latency may be due to network issues, not necessarily resource contention.
✓
Memory ballooning
Why this is correct
Ballooning is a sign that the hypervisor is reclaiming memory from the VM due to contention.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often select network latency or swap file usage as signs of resource contention, but these metrics are not direct indicators of hypervisor-level contention for CPU, memory, or storage in a virtualized environment.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
CPU ready time is reported as a percentage in VMware vSphere (e.g., %RDY) and should ideally stay below 5% per vCPU; values above 10-20% indicate severe contention. Disk queuing measures the number of I/O requests waiting for storage, which when persistently high signals storage subsystem contention. Memory ballooning is a VMware technique where the hypervisor reclaims memory from a VM by inflating a balloon driver, forcing the guest OS to swap, which directly indicates memory overcommitment and contention.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A practitioner preparing for the CV0-004 exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Operations and Support — This question tests Operations and Support — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: CPU ready time — CPU ready time measures the time a virtual machine is ready to execute instructions but is waiting for the hypervisor to schedule physical CPU resources. High ready time directly indicates CPU contention, as the VM is being starved of CPU cycles by other VMs on the same host.
What should I do if I get this CV0-004 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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