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CV0-004 Practice Question: Which TWO metrics should be monitored to…
Which TWO metrics should be monitored to determine if a cloud database is experiencing a memory bottleneck?
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA often tests the distinction between memory-specific metrics (swap usage, page faults) and storage-related metrics (disk queue length, latency), trapping candidates who confuse high disk activity with memory pressure.
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
✓
Swap usage
Swap usage (B) is a direct indicator of memory pressure: when the database's working set exceeds available RAM, the OS pages memory out to swap, so sustained or rising swap activity signals a memory bottleneck. Page faults per second (E) is also a core memory metric, since a high rate of hard page faults means the database is repeatedly fetching pages from disk instead of RAM, confirming insufficient memory. By contrast, network bytes sent (A) reflects throughput/bandwidth rather than memory contention, and average disk queue length (C) and disk latency (D) measure storage subsystem performance, which may be affected by paging but do not by themselves identify a memory bottleneck.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Network bytes sent
Why it's wrong here
Network bytes sent measures throughput across the network interface, which reflects traffic volume rather than memory pressure inside the database engine. It is tempting because network saturation can degrade database performance, and it would be the correct metric when diagnosing bandwidth constraints or connection-related latency.
- ✓
Swap usage
Why this is correct
Swap usage rises when physical memory is exhausted and the database pages memory to disk. Sustained swap activity signals a memory bottleneck, since the instance is compensating for insufficient RAM by moving pages to slower storage.
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Average disk queue length
Why it's wrong here
Average disk queue length measures outstanding I/O requests on the storage subsystem, indicating disk contention rather than memory exhaustion. It is tempting because paging caused by memory pressure can lengthen disk queues, but it would be the correct metric when diagnosing storage throughput or IOPS bottlenecks.
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Disk latency
Why it's wrong here
Disk latency measures the time taken to service storage operations, reflecting disk performance rather than memory consumption. It is tempting because memory pressure can force paging and raise latency, but it would be the correct metric when investigating slow storage or an undersized provisioned IOPS tier.
- ✓
Page faults per second
Why this is correct
Page faults per second measures how often the database requests pages not resident in physical memory. A sustained high rate indicates excessive paging, a direct symptom that available RAM is insufficient for the working set.
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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.