This MS-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe cloud concepts. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company uses a cloud provider that offers compute power as a service. The provider manages the physical servers, storage, and networking, but the company has full control over the operating system, applications, and configurations. Which cloud service model is being used?
Why wrong: SaaS provides pre-built applications; the customer does not control the underlying OS or runtime.
B
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
Why wrong: PaaS manages the runtime environment; the customer does not have control over the operating system.
C
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
IaaS provides virtual machines and storage; the customer manages the OS, applications, and configurations while the provider handles the physical infrastructure.
D
Function as a Service (FaaS)
Why wrong: FaaS is a subset of PaaS where customers run code without managing servers; they do not control the OS.
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)
The scenario describes Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), where the cloud provider manages the underlying physical infrastructure (servers, storage, networking), but the customer retains full control over the operating system, applications, and configurations. This aligns with the IaaS model as defined by NIST SP 800-145, which provides virtualized computing resources over the internet.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Software as a Service (SaaS)
Why it's wrong here
SaaS provides pre-built applications; the customer does not control the underlying OS or runtime.
✗
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
Why it's wrong here
PaaS manages the runtime environment; the customer does not have control over the operating system.
✓
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
Why this is correct
IaaS provides virtual machines and storage; the customer manages the OS, applications, and configurations while the provider handles the physical infrastructure.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Function as a Service (FaaS)
Why it's wrong here
FaaS is a subset of PaaS where customers run code without managing servers; they do not control the OS.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse PaaS with IaaS because both involve deploying applications, but PaaS removes OS control, while IaaS explicitly grants it, and the question's phrase 'full control over the operating system' is the critical differentiator.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In IaaS, the provider uses hypervisors (e.g., VMware ESXi, Hyper-V) to virtualize hardware, and customers interact with virtual machines via APIs or management consoles. A real-world example is Amazon EC2, where you can launch a Windows or Linux VM, install custom software, and configure the OS fully, while AWS manages the physical hosts and network fabric. The key distinction is that IaaS gives you OS-level access (e.g., via RDP or SSH), which is not available in PaaS or SaaS.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this MS-900 question in full detail.
Describe cloud concepts — This question tests Describe cloud concepts — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) — The scenario describes Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), where the cloud provider manages the underlying physical infrastructure (servers, storage, networking), but the customer retains full control over the operating system, applications, and configurations. This aligns with the IaaS model as defined by NIST SP 800-145, which provides virtualized computing resources over the internet.
What should I do if I get this MS-900 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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