Quick Answer
The answer is rehost, commonly called lift and shift, because it moves the legacy monolithic application to cloud infrastructure with minimal changes, preserving the complex interdependencies that make refactoring impossible. This strategy immediately unlocks cloud benefits like elasticity through auto-scaling groups and pay-as-you-go pricing by migrating the application as-is onto virtual machines such as EC2 instances, without altering the tightly coupled codebase. On the CompTIA Cloud+ CV0-004 exam, this question tests your ability to match migration strategies to business constraints—specifically, when speed and risk reduction outweigh the need for cloud-native optimization. A common trap is choosing re-platform, which still requires minor code changes, or refactor, which demands breaking the monolith. Remember the memory tip: “Lift and shift, don’t fix the rift”—if the application has tight interdependencies you cannot untangle, rehost is your only safe bet.
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 moving a legacy monolithic application to the cloud. The application has interdependencies that make it difficult to refactor. The architect needs to minimize changes while gaining cloud benefits like elasticity and pay-as-you-go. Which migration strategy is BEST?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Clue: "minimum / minimize"
Why it matters: Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
Retire
Why wrong: Retire is for decommissioning applications, not migrating.
Repurchase
Why wrong: Repurchase means switching to a SaaS product, which is a major change.
Refactor / Re-architect
Why wrong: Refactoring involves significant changes to the application architecture, contrary to minimizing changes.
Rehost (Lift and shift)
Rehost moves the existing application to the cloud with minimal changes, meeting the requirement.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Rehost (Lift and shift)
Rehosting (lift and shift) is the best strategy because it moves the monolithic application to the cloud with minimal changes, preserving existing interdependencies. This allows the company to immediately gain cloud benefits like elasticity and pay-as-you-go pricing without refactoring the tightly coupled codebase. The application runs on cloud infrastructure (e.g., EC2 instances) as-is, leveraging auto-scaling and resource optimization.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Retire
Why it's wrong here
Retire is for decommissioning applications, not migrating.
Repurchase
Why it's wrong here
Repurchase means switching to a SaaS product, which is a major change.
Refactor / Re-architect
Why it's wrong here
Refactoring involves significant changes to the application architecture, contrary to minimizing changes.
Rehost (Lift and shift)
Why this is correct
Rehost moves the existing application to the cloud with minimal changes, meeting the requirement.
Clue confirmation
The clue words "best", "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
CompTIA often tests the misconception that 'cloud-native benefits require refactoring,' but the trap here is that rehosting still provides elasticity and pay-as-you-go via infrastructure-level scaling, even without application changes.
Detailed technical explanation
Rehosting typically involves migrating workloads to IaaS services like AWS EC2 or Azure VMs, using tools like AWS VM Import/Export or Azure Site Recovery for disk-level replication. The application retains its original OS, middleware, and configuration, so no code changes are needed. In real-world scenarios, this strategy is common for legacy apps with hard-coded IP addresses or database connections that would break during refactoring.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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FAQ
Cloud Architecture and Design — This question tests Cloud Architecture and Design — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Rehost (Lift and shift) — Rehosting (lift and shift) is the best strategy because it moves the monolithic application to the cloud with minimal changes, preserving existing interdependencies. This allows the company to immediately gain cloud benefits like elasticity and pay-as-you-go pricing without refactoring the tightly coupled codebase. The application runs on cloud infrastructure (e.g., EC2 instances) as-is, leveraging auto-scaling and resource optimization.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Yes — watch for: "best", "minimum / minimize". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 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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