FC0-U71 Tech Concepts and Terminology Practice Question
A company wants to use a cloud service where they can deploy their own applications on virtual machines without managing the underlying hardware. Which cloud service model best fits this requirement?
⚠ Common exam trap
FC0-U71 often tests the boundary between IaaS and PaaS — candidates confuse 'deploying applications' with PaaS, but the key differentiator is whether the customer manages the VM/OS, which makes it IaaS.
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
✓
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
IaaS provides virtualized compute, storage, and networking resources where the customer manages the OS, middleware, and applications while the provider manages the physical hardware and hypervisor. Deploying your own applications on VMs without managing hardware is the textbook definition of IaaS (e.g., Amazon EC2).
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
Why this is correct
IaaS provides virtual machines, storage and networking while the provider manages only the physical hardware and hypervisor. The customer controls the operating system and deployed applications, matching the requirement to run own applications without managing underlying hardware.
- ✗
Software as a Service (SaaS)
Why it's wrong here
SaaS delivers a finished vendor application; customers neither deploy their own software nor access virtual machines. It is tempting because it eliminates all infrastructure management, and it would be correct for consuming ready-made services such as email, but it cannot host custom applications on customer-controlled VMs.
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Function as a Service (FaaS)
Why it's wrong here
FaaS runs event-triggered functions with no persistent virtual machine, so customers cannot deploy arbitrary applications onto VMs they control. It is tempting because FaaS removes server management entirely, and it would be correct for short, stateless, event-driven workloads rather than hosting full applications on virtual machines.
- ✗
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
Why it's wrong here
PaaS abstracts the operating system and runtime, so customers deploy code without administering virtual machines. It is tempting because it removes hardware management, but the requirement specifies deploying applications on VMs, which demands infrastructure control over the OS layer that PaaS deliberately withholds.
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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
This FC0-U71 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 FC0-U71 exam.