CCSP Cloud Concepts, Architecture, and Design Practice Question
A community cloud is best suited for which scenario?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap is that 'community cloud' sounds like it serves the general public, so candidates pick the public-cloud answer — the exam expects you to know the community is a bounded group with shared compliance or mission needs.
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
✓
Several government agencies with similar security and compliance requirements
A community cloud is shared infrastructure provisioned for exclusive use by a specific community of consumers from organizations that have shared concerns (e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, compliance). Several government agencies with similar security and compliance requirements is the canonical example, because they can share costs while meeting common regulatory mandates like FedRAMP or CJIS. The defining trait is a bounded community with shared interests, not the general public.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
A startup wanting to minimize costs by sharing resources with the general public
Why it's wrong here
Community cloud serves a defined group sharing common compliance or mission requirements, not the general public, which is public cloud. It tempts because cost-sharing through pooled resources is a genuine community cloud benefit, and would be correct if the startup shared infrastructure with similar organisations rather than the open public.
- ✗
A single organization needing dedicated infrastructure
Why it's wrong here
Dedicated infrastructure for one organisation describes a private cloud, since community cloud shares infrastructure among organisations with common concerns. It tempts because dedicated tenancy sounds secure and controlled, and would be correct if the scenario involved a single entity's exclusive, on-premises or single-tenant environment.
- ✗
A company that needs to burst workloads to the public cloud during peak times
Why it's wrong here
Community cloud serves organisations sharing common concerns — compliance, mission, or infrastructure — under joint governance; bursting to public cloud is hybrid cloud's elasticity pattern. It is tempting because both involve multiple parties, but community cloud's defining axis is shared tenancy among similar organisations, not overflow capacity.
- ✓
Several government agencies with similar security and compliance requirements
Why this is correct
A community cloud is shared infrastructure provisioned for a specific community of organisations with common concerns. Several government agencies with similar security and compliance requirements fit this model, sharing cost and controls while excluding the general public.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official ISC2 exam blueprint
This CCSP practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISC2 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 CCSP exam.