MS-900 Describe cloud concepts Practice Question
A company uses a cloud provider that charges them based solely on the exact number of gigabytes of storage used and the number of virtual machine hours consumed. They can increase or decrease usage at any time without any upfront commitment. Which essential characteristic of cloud computing does this billing model demonstrate?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse 'measured service' with 'on-demand self-service' because both involve user control and flexibility, but measured service specifically focuses on the metering and billing aspect, not the ability to provision resources without human interaction.
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 based on exact gigabytes of storage used and virtual machine hours consumed, which directly aligns with the 'measured service' characteristic of cloud computing. Measured service means cloud providers meter and bill customers precisely for the resources they consume, often using a pay-as-you-go model. This allows the company to pay only for what they use without upfront commitments, as described in the scenario.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Measured service
Why this is correct
Measured service is the cloud characteristic where a provider meters resource usage — such as compute hours, storage capacity, and network bandwidth — and bills customers based solely on that measured consumption. This pay-per-use model directly matches the scenario of being charged based on actual resource utilization, not on flat fees or other factors.
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Rapid elasticity
Why it's wrong here
Rapid elasticity refers to the ability of a cloud system to automatically and dynamically scale resources outward or inward to match fluctuating demand, often appearing unlimited to the user. While this scaling can indirectly influence costs, it is a performance and provisioning feature, not a pricing mechanism that charges based solely on usage.
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Resource pooling
Why it's wrong here
Resource pooling is a multi-tenant model where the provider's physical and virtual resources are shared among multiple customers, with abstraction and isolation to ensure each consumer is unaware of others. This sharing affects efficiency and availability, but it does not define how individual consumption is metered or billed, so it does not explain usage-based charging.
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On-demand self-service
Why it's wrong here
On-demand self-service enables users to provision and configure computing resources automatically through a web portal or API, without requiring manual intervention from the service provider. Although it facilitates immediate access to services, this capability addresses the provisioning workflow rather than the billing methodology, so it is incorrect for a model that charges solely on consumption.
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