- A
Increase the size of the existing virtual machines (vertical scaling)
Why wrong: Vertical scaling does not enable horizontal scaling; it increases capacity of a single instance.
- B
Use sticky sessions (session affinity) on the load balancer
Why wrong: Sticky sessions tie a user to a specific instance, making horizontal scaling less effective.
- C
Refactor the application to be stateless
Statelessness enables any instance to handle any request, facilitating horizontal scaling.
- D
Implement a shared file system using Amazon EFS or Azure Files
Shared file system provides consistent access to files across instances, needed for stateful data that must be shared.
- E
Move session state to a centralized database such as ElastiCache or DynamoDB
Centralizing state allows instances to be added/removed without losing state.
CV0-004 Cloud Architecture and Design Practice Question
This CV0-004 practice question tests your understanding of cloud architecture and design. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 company is migrating a legacy application to the cloud. The application has a stateful design and requires low-latency access to a shared file system. The application must scale horizontally to handle increased load. Which THREE of the following architectural changes should be recommended to enable horizontal scaling?
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
Refactor the application to be stateless
Option C is correct because horizontal scaling requires that any instance can handle any request without depending on local state. By refactoring the application to be stateless, session data is externalized, allowing new instances to be added or removed without affecting ongoing transactions. This eliminates the coupling between a client and a specific server, which is essential for elastic scaling in cloud environments.
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.
- ✗
Increase the size of the existing virtual machines (vertical scaling)
Why it's wrong here
Vertical scaling does not enable horizontal scaling; it increases capacity of a single instance.
- ✗
Use sticky sessions (session affinity) on the load balancer
Why it's wrong here
Sticky sessions tie a user to a specific instance, making horizontal scaling less effective.
- ✓
Refactor the application to be stateless
Why this is correct
Statelessness enables any instance to handle any request, facilitating horizontal scaling.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Implement a shared file system using Amazon EFS or Azure Files
Why this is correct
Shared file system provides consistent access to files across instances, needed for stateful data that must be shared.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Move session state to a centralized database such as ElastiCache or DynamoDB
Why this is correct
Centralizing state allows instances to be added/removed without losing state.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Cisco often tests the misconception that sticky sessions (session affinity) are a valid solution for scaling stateful applications, but in reality they create a hard dependency on a specific server, which directly contradicts the principles of horizontal scaling and fault tolerance.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, stateless architectures rely on externalizing session state into services like Amazon ElastiCache (Redis/Memcached) or DynamoDB, which provide sub-millisecond read/write latencies and are designed for concurrent access from many nodes. This pattern aligns with the 12-Factor App methodology, specifically the 'Processes' and 'Backing Services' factors, ensuring that each instance is disposable and can be replaced at any time. In practice, this is critical for auto-scaling groups where instances are terminated and launched dynamically based on CPU or memory metrics.
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.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this CV0-004 question test?
Cloud Architecture and Design — This question tests Cloud Architecture and Design — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Refactor the application to be stateless — Option C is correct because horizontal scaling requires that any instance can handle any request without depending on local state. By refactoring the application to be stateless, session data is externalized, allowing new instances to be added or removed without affecting ongoing transactions. This eliminates the coupling between a client and a specific server, which is essential for elastic scaling in cloud environments.
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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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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.
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