CV0-004 Cloud Architecture and Design Practice Question
A company runs a stateless web application on auto-scaling EC2 instances behind an Application Load Balancer. The application experiences sudden traffic spikes. Which scaling approach will handle the spikes most efficiently while minimizing cost?
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
✓
Horizontal scaling with auto-scaling based on CPU utilization
Horizontal scaling (adding instances) combined with auto-scaling based on metrics is best for handling spikes cost-effectively in a stateless app.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Horizontal scaling with auto-scaling based on CPU utilization
Why this is correct
Correct. Horizontal scaling adds instances as needed, and auto-scaling ensures cost efficiency.
- ✗
Vertical scaling of existing instances
Why it's wrong here
Vertical scaling has limits and may cause downtime; not as efficient for sudden spikes.
- ✗
Using reserved instances for all capacity
Why it's wrong here
Reserved instances are cost-effective for steady state, not for handling spikes.
- ✗
Pre-provisioning a large number of instances
Why it's wrong here
Pre-provisioning leads to idle resources and higher costs.
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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.