AZ-900 Describe cloud concepts Practice Question
Which of the following is the cloud provider's responsibility under the shared responsibility model for Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse IaaS with PaaS or SaaS, mistakenly thinking the provider handles OS patches or network security groups, when in IaaS the customer retains full control over the OS and network configuration.
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
✓
Physical datacenter and host hardware
In the shared responsibility model for IaaS, the cloud provider is responsible for the physical infrastructure, including the datacenter, host hardware, network, and storage. This is because the customer has no physical access to these components and cannot manage them. The provider ensures the underlying hardware is maintained, secured, and operational.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Operating system updates and patches
Why it's wrong here
Operating system updates and patches for the guest OS installed on an IaaS VM are the customer's responsibility, as the customer has full administrative access to the OS. The provider only patches and maintains the underlying hypervisor and physical infrastructure, not the guest operating systems. Customers must implement their own patch management processes, so this option is not a provider responsibility.
- ✗
Application data backup
Why it's wrong here
In IaaS, the customer retains ownership of and responsibility for all data placed in the cloud, so configuring and verifying application data backups is a customer obligation. The provider guarantees only the underlying infrastructure availability, not the integrity or recoverability of customer data. While Azure offers backup services, the customer must activate and manage them, making this option incorrect.
- ✓
Physical datacenter and host hardware
Why this is correct
In IaaS, the cloud provider is responsible for the physical datacenter, including security, power, cooling, and the host hardware (servers, storage, and networking) that underpin the virtualized environment. The customer manages everything above the hypervisor, such as VMs, operating systems, and applications. This is the correct answer because the question specifically asks for a responsibility that belongs to the provider.
- ✗
Network security group configuration
Why it's wrong here
Network security group (NSG) configuration is a customer-controlled activity in IaaS because NSGs are customer-defined rules used to filter traffic to and from virtual machines and subnets. The provider supplies the virtual network infrastructure, but the customer designs, creates, and maintains the NSG rules to enforce their security policies. This falls under 'customer-managed security configuration,' making the option incorrect.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
What is Cloud Computing?
Key term
Shared responsibility model
The shared responsibility model is a framework that defines which security and compliance tasks are handled by the cloud provider and which are handled by the customer.
Key term
IaaS
IaaS stands for Infrastructure as a Service, which means renting virtual computing resources like servers, storage, and networking from a cloud provider instead of buying and managing physical hardware yourself.
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every AZ-900 question from scratch — 981 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This AZ-900 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft 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 AZ-900 exam.