hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
CV0-004 Practice Question: A cloud operations team notices that a production…
A cloud operations team notices that a production database is experiencing intermittent slow queries. The database is running on a virtual machine with 4 vCPUs and 16 GB of memory. The slow queries coincide with high CPU usage. Which of the following is the MOST effective long-term solution?
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA Cloud+ often tests the distinction between scaling up (vertical) and scaling out (horizontal) solutions, and the trap here is that candidates may choose query tuning or read replicas as a 'best practice' without recognizing that the immediate symptom of high CPU usage requires more compute resources, not just query optimization or traffic offloading.
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
✓
Scale up the database virtual machine to 8 vCPUs and 32 GB of memory.
Scaling up the virtual machine from 4 vCPUs/16 GB to 8 vCPUs/32 GB directly addresses the root cause of high CPU and memory contention, which is causing the intermittent slow queries. This vertical scaling provides immediate additional compute and memory resources to handle peak query loads, making it the most effective long-term solution for a production database experiencing resource exhaustion.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Migrate the database to a containerized deployment for better resource utilization.
Why it's wrong here
Containerization may improve efficiency but not necessarily resolve the need for more resources.
- ✓
Scale up the database virtual machine to 8 vCPUs and 32 GB of memory.
Why this is correct
Increasing resources directly addresses the CPU and memory bottleneck.
- ✗
Use a query performance tuning tool to optimize the slow queries.
Why it's wrong here
Tuning is important but may not eliminate the need for additional resources in the long term.
- ✗
Implement a read replica to offload read traffic.
Why it's wrong here
Read replicas help with read scalability but not with CPU-intensive queries.
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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.