easyMultiple SelectObjective-mapped
CV0-004 Practice Question: Which TWO characteristics are essential for a…
Which TWO characteristics are essential for a cloud service to be considered as a true Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offering?
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA often tests the misconception that IaaS includes provider-managed OS patching or backups, confusing it with PaaS or managed services, but the core distinction is customer control over the guest OS and on-demand self-service provisioning.
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
✓
Customer has control over the guest operating system
In IaaS, the customer retains control over the guest operating system, including its configuration, security, and installed applications. The provider manages the underlying physical infrastructure and hypervisor, but the customer is responsible for the OS layer, which is a defining characteristic of IaaS versus PaaS or SaaS. Option E is also correct because on-demand self-service provisioning is a fundamental characteristic of cloud computing as defined by NIST, and it is essential for IaaS offerings, allowing customers to provision virtual machines and other resources automatically without human interaction with the provider.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Customer has control over the guest operating system
Why this is correct
IaaS gives customers control over the OS and applications.
- ✗
Provider automatically applies OS security patches
Why it's wrong here
OS patching is typically the customer's responsibility in IaaS.
- ✗
Customer manages the underlying hypervisor
Why it's wrong here
In IaaS, the provider manages the hypervisor; customer manages the VM guest.
- ✗
Provider performs automated backups of all customer data
Why it's wrong here
Backups are usually the customer's responsibility unless a separate backup service is used.
- ✓
On-demand self-service provisioning of virtual machines
Why this is correct
IaaS allows users to provision VMs on-demand.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
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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.