MS-900 Describe cloud concepts Practice Question
A company uses a cloud provider and is billed monthly based only on the exact amount of storage used and the number of compute hours consumed. They can increase or decrease usage at any time without upfront commitments. Which cloud computing characteristic does this billing model primarily demonstrate?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse 'measured service' with 'rapid elasticity' because both involve scaling, but measured service is specifically about metering and billing, not the speed of scaling.
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
✓
Measured service
The billing model charges only for actual storage used and compute hours consumed, with no upfront commitments and the ability to adjust usage at any time. This directly aligns with the 'measured service' characteristic, where cloud resource usage is metered, monitored, and billed based on consumption. The key is that the provider tracks and reports usage transparently, enabling a pay-per-use model.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
On-demand self-service
Why it's wrong here
On-demand self-service is a cloud characteristic where customers can provision and configure resources automatically via a web portal or API without requiring human interaction from the provider. However, this trait focuses on the mechanics of resource acquisition, not on the pricing model. The scenario's emphasis on monthly usage-based billing directly reflects metered service, not the self-service provisioning process.
- ✗
Rapid elasticity
Why it's wrong here
Rapid elasticity describes the ability of cloud resources to scale out and in dynamically in response to fluctuating workload demands, often to optimize performance and costs. While such scaling may affect resource consumption, the scenario does not mention any scaling behavior or variable demand patterns. Instead, it specifically highlights the billing mechanism based on metered usage, which is the defining attribute of measured service.
- ✓
Measured service
Why this is correct
Measured service is the cloud characteristic where resource usage is automatically metered, monitored, controlled, and reported, enabling a transparent pay-per-use billing model. The scenario's statement that the company is billed monthly based on actual usage is a textbook example of this attribute. It allows the provider to charge only for consumed resources and gives the customer visibility into usage and costs.
- ✗
Resource pooling
Why it's wrong here
Resource pooling refers to the provider's multi-tenant infrastructure where physical and virtual resources are shared among multiple customers, with different customers being assigned and reassigned resources as needed. This characteristic is about the underlying architecture and utilization efficiency, not about how individual consumption is measured or billed. The scenario's focus on usage-based monthly billing is unrelated to the sharing mechanism, pointing instead to measured service as the key attribute.
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