CV0-004 Cloud Architecture and Design Practice Question
A company is migrating a legacy application to the cloud. The application uses a fixed IP address that is hard-coded in several clients. The company needs to ensure the IP address remains the same even if the underlying virtual machine is replaced. Which cloud networking feature should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that a static private IP or a DHCP reservation provides a public IP that can be moved, when only an elastic IP offers that capability.
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
✓
An elastic IP address that can be associated with a different virtual machine.
An elastic IP address is a static public IP that can be reassigned to another virtual machine. This allows the application to keep the same public endpoint even when the underlying instance is replaced, which is essential when clients have the IP hard-coded. DHCP reservations and static private IPs are limited to private networks and do not provide a movable public address.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
A content delivery network (CDN) distribution with a custom domain.
Why it's wrong here
A CDN caches content at edge locations and uses a domain name, not a fixed IP address. Clients would need to resolve the domain, and the CDN's IP addresses can change. This does not provide a single, stable IP address that can be hard-coded in clients. CDNs are also not suitable for arbitrary application traffic that is not HTTP-based.
- ✗
A dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) reservation.
Why it's wrong here
A DHCP reservation assigns a consistent private IP address to a specific MAC address within a subnet. However, it does not provide a public IP address that can be moved between virtual machines, and it is scoped to a single subnet. If the virtual machine is replaced in a different subnet, the reservation does not follow, so it does not meet the requirement of a stable, movable IP address.
- ✗
A static private IP address assigned manually to the virtual machine.
Why it's wrong here
A static private IP address is tied to the virtual machine's network interface. If the virtual machine is replaced, the new instance would need the same private IP, which is possible only if it is in the same subnet and the address is available. However, this does not provide a public-facing IP that clients can use if they are outside the private network. The requirement implies a public IP that remains constant.
- ✓
An elastic IP address that can be associated with a different virtual machine.
Why this is correct
An elastic IP address is a static public IPv4 address designed for dynamic cloud computing. It can be associated with any virtual machine in the account and moved between instances if a failure occurs. This allows clients that use the hard-coded IP to continue reaching the application even after the underlying virtual machine is replaced, satisfying the requirement for a stable public endpoint.
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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
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