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CV0-004 Practice Question: A cloud administrator receives an alert that the…
A cloud administrator receives an alert that the CPU usage on a virtual machine has spiked to 100% for 10 minutes. The VM hosts a critical application. What is the best first step?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates often jump to immediate remediation actions like rebooting or migrating the VM, overlooking the fundamental troubleshooting principle of gathering diagnostic data first to avoid recurring issues and unnecessary downtime.
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
✓
Check the VM's performance metrics for the last hour to identify the process causing the spike.
Checking the VM's performance metrics for the last hour is the best first step because it allows the administrator to identify the specific process or application causing the CPU spike without disrupting service. This diagnostic approach aligns with the ITIL problem management framework, which emphasizes root cause analysis before taking corrective action. In a virtualized environment, tools like vCenter Performance Charts or Hyper-V Performance Monitor can pinpoint whether the spike is due to a runaway process, a memory leak, or a scheduled task, enabling a targeted resolution.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Check the VM's performance metrics for the last hour to identify the process causing the spike.
Why this is correct
Identifying the root cause through metrics is the best first step before any remediation.
- ✗
Immediately reboot the VM.
Why it's wrong here
Rebooting without diagnosis may lose evidence and does not prevent recurrence.
- ✗
Move the VM to a different host.
Why it's wrong here
Live migration is disruptive and should not be the first step without diagnosis.
- ✗
Increase the VM's CPU limits.
Why it's wrong here
Increasing limits without understanding the cause may not address the issue and could lead to over-provisioning.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.