CV0-003 CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Questions and Answers

CI/CD tools are software tools that enable continuous integration and continuous delivery or deployment, which are methods to frequently deliver software products to customers by introducing automation into the stages of software development. CI/CD tools can help a product-based company to transition to a method that provides the capability to enhance the product seamlessly and keep the development iterations to a shorter time frame, as they can offer the following benefits:

• Faster and more reliable delivery of software products, as CI/CD tools can automate the processes of building, testing, and deploying code changes, reducing manual errors and delays.
• Higher quality and performance of software products, as CI/CD tools can facilitate ongoing feedback, monitoring, and improvement of the code, ensuring that it meets the customer expectations and requirements.
• Greater collaboration and communication among the development teams, as CI/CD tools can integrate with various tools and platforms, such as version control systems, code repositories, testing frameworks, and cloud services, enabling a seamless workflow and visibility across the software lifecycle.

Some examples of popular CI/CD tools are Jenkins1, CircleCI2, GitLab CI/CD3, and AWS CodeBuild4.

An IP address management (IPAM) solution is a type of tool or system that automates and standardizes the allocation, tracking, and management of IP addresses in an IP network. An IPAM solution can help achieve ease of management for hosting a DNS domain with private and public IP ranges, as it can simplify and centralize the process of assigning and updating IP addresses for different DNS records or zones without manual intervention or errors. An IPAM solution can also help optimize DNS performance and security, as it can monitor and report any issues or conflicts related to IP addresses or DNS records. References: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 15, section 2.8

DLP (Data Loss Prevention) is a service that prevents the unauthorized or accidental disclosure of confidential or sensitive data, such as company information, intellectual property, customer data, or personal information. DLP can monitor, detect, and block the data in motion (such as email, web, or network traffic), data at rest (such as files, databases, or cloud storage), or data in use (such as endpoints, applications, or clipboard). DLP can help a systems administrator to ensure confidential company information is not leaked to competitors by applying policies and rules that define what data is considered confidential, who can access it, how it can be used, and what actions to take if a violation occurs. For example, DLP can encrypt, quarantine, delete, or alert the administrator if confidential data is being copied, transferred, or shared outside the organization.

LTS stands for Long Term Support, and it is a term that refers to a version of an operating system that receives updates and security patches for a longer period of time than other versions. LTS versions are usually more stable and reliable than other versions, and they are suitable for users who want to avoid frequent changes or compatibility issues. By choosing LTS versions for the VMs that are hosted in a cloud environment, the systems administrator can ensure that the VMs receive updates for as long as possible, and benefit from the enhanced security and performance of the operating system. LTS versions are typically released every few years, and they are supported for several years after their release. For example, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS is supported until April 2025, while Ubuntu 21.04 is supported until January 2022. References: CompTIA Cloud+ CV0-003 Certification Study Guide, Chapter 5, Objective 5.2: Given a scenario, troubleshoot common cloud resource and service issues.

The first step to identify the scope of an incident in an IaaS platform is to perform a traffic capture on the affected instances or network interfaces. This will help to determine the source, destination, and nature of the malicious or anomalous traffic, as well as the impact on the network performance and availability. A traffic capture can also provide evidence for further analysis and remediation. Reference: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, Domain 4.0 Troubleshooting, Objective 4.2 Given a scenario, troubleshoot security issues related to cloud implementations.

A synthetic full backup is a type of backup that combines the latest full backup with all the subsequent incremental backups to create a new full backup. This type of backup will back up all the data from each VM daily while also saving space, as it does not require a new full backup every time and only transfers the changed data from the incremental backups. Reference: [CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives], Domain 3.0 Maintenance, Objective 3.2 Given a scenario, implement backup, restore, disaster recovery and business continuity measures.

 A quota is a limit on the number of resources that a cloud account can create or use in a public cloud environment. If the cloud account tries to create more instances than the quota allows, it will receive a LimitedInstanceCapacity error, indicating that there is not enough available capacity to fulfill the request

According to the CompTIA Cloud+ Study Guide1, autoscaling is “the ability to automatically increase or decrease the number of resources allocated to a cloud service based on the current demand”. This means that autoscaling can help a cloud environment adjust to changes in traffic and workload, such as the ones caused by the new marketing promotions.

Ballooning, on the other hand, is “a technique used by hypervisors to reclaim unused memory from a virtual machine and allocate it to another virtual machine that needs more memory”. This means that ballooning can help optimize the memory usage of a cloud environment, but it does not affect the number of resources allocated to a cloud service.

A firewall is “a device or software that monitors and controls the incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predefined rules”. This means that a firewall can help protect a cloud environment from unauthorized access and malicious attacks, but it does not affect the number of resources allocated to a cloud service.

Switches are “devices that connect multiple devices on a network and forward data packets between them”. This means that switches can help improve the network performance and connectivity of a cloud environment, but they do not affect the number of resources allocated to a cloud service.

Based on this information, I think the best answer to your question is D. Autoscaling. Autoscaling can help the company accommodate the new traffic by automatically increasing or decreasing the number of resources allocated to their web-application service based on the current demand. This can also help reduce costs and improve performance and availability.

I hope this helps you understand the concept of autoscaling better. If you want to learn more about CompTIA Cloud+, you can check out some of these resources:

• CompTIA Cloud+ : Cloud High Availability & Scaling: A video course that covers the topics of high availability and scaling in cloud environments, including autoscaling, horizontal scaling, vertical scaling and cloud bursting.
• Cloud+ (Plus) Certification | CompTIA IT Certifications: The official website of CompTIA Cloud+, where you can find exam details, preparation materials, renewal information and more.

Infrastructure as code (IaC) is a method of provisioning and managing cloud resources using code or scripts, rather than manual processes or GUI tools. This allows for automation, consistency, scalability, and version control of the infrastructure layer. This would be the best option to deploy a solution to automate new application releases that come from the development team without modifying any configurations in the application code. Reference: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, Domain 3.0 Maintenance, Objective 3.4 Given a scenario, implement automation and orchestration to optimize cloud operations.

VM escape is a type of attack that allows an attacker to break out of a virtual machine (VM) and access the host system or other VMs within the same cloud provider’s environment. VM escape can exploit the vulnerabilities in the virtualization layer or hypervisor that separates and isolates the VMs from each other and from the host system. VM escape can result in serious consequences, such as compromising the security and privacy of other customers’ data or resources, gaining unauthorized access to the cloud provider’s infrastructure or services, or launching further attacks on other systems or networks. VM escape best describes the attack that was performed by a vendor who was able to exploit the virtualization layer and obtain access to other instances within the cloud provider’s environment that do not belong to the company. References: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 19, section 4.1

Core-based licensing is a type of licensing model that charges based on the number of processor cores in a system or server. Core-based licensing is often used by software vendors to align their pricing with the performance and capacity of modern hardware. Core-based licensing can also enable customers to optimize their licensing costs by choosing the appropriate hardware configuration for their needs. Upgrading the processors in a web application host can affect the core-based licensing of the application, as it may increase the number of cores that need to be licensed. This can result in an alert regarding the license being out of compliance if the license is not updated accordingly. References: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 20, section 4.2

MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) is a security technique that requires the user to present two or more pieces of evidence to prove their identity when they try to access a system or an application. For example, a password and a physical token, or a fingerprint and a one-time code. MFA can improve the company’s security posture by preventing unauthorized access even if the password or single-factor authentication is compromised, as the attacker would also need to have the other factors to log in. According to the web search results, MFA can prevent 99.9% of account attacks1.

SSO (Single Sign-On) is a system that allows the user to use one set of login credentials to access multiple systems and applications that previously may have each required their own logins. SSO can improve productivity and user convenience, but it does not replace MFA. In fact, SSO works in conjunction with MFA, as it can enforce MFA for all the systems and applications that are integrated with SSO2. Therefore, implementing SSO does not mean that MFA is not needed.

The first step in incident response is to contain the incident activities and attackers, which means preventing them from spreading to other systems or causing more damage. In this case, the security analyst should isolate the instance from the network into quarantine, which means cutting off its communication with other hosts and services. This will stop the cryptocurrency mining activity and prevent the attacker from accessing the instance remotely. Isolating the instance also preserves the evidence for further analysis and investigation.

The best way to gracefully stop any new transactions from processing before applying updates to an application is to enable maintenance mode from the application dashboard. Maintenance mode is a feature that allows temporarily disabling the access or functionality of an application or service while performing maintenance tasks, such as updates, patches, or backups. It also displays a message or notification to the users or clients informing them about the maintenance and the expected downtime. This method will prevent any new transactions from being initiated or interrupted while the updates are being applied. Reference: [CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives], Domain 3.0 Maintenance, Objective 3.1 Given a scenario, apply appropriate changes to meet performance, security and user requirements.

Hyperconverged storage is a type of storage architecture that combines compute, storage, and network resources into a single system or appliance. Hyperconverged storage uses software-defined storage (SDS) to pool and share the local storage of each node in the cluster, creating a distributed storage system that can be accessed by any node or virtual machine in the cluster. Hyperconverged storage can provide high performance, scalability, and efficiency for virtualized environments. The scenario of building a new virtualization cluster with five virtual hosts that share their flash and spinning disks among all the virtual hosts is an example of hyperconverged storage. References: [CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives], page 9, section 1.4

An API request limit is a restriction on the number of requests that can be made to a web service or application programming interface (API) within a certain time period. API request limits are often used by SaaS-based services to control the usage and traffic of their customers and prevent overloading or abuse of their resources. An API request limit can cause a failure to send all the emails if the marketing team exceeds the number of requests allowed by the SaaS-based service in a week. The service may reject or block any requests that go beyond the limit, resulting in fewer emails being sent than expected. References: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 13, section 2.5

The best way to resolve the issue where the autoscaling configuration is creating a new VM every five minutes after deploying a new CI/CD tool to automate new releases of the web application and configuring a script to be executed by the VMs during bootstrapping is to debug the script and redeploy it. Debugging the script means finding and fixing any errors or bugs in the code or logic of the script that may cause unexpected or undesired behavior, such as triggering the autoscaling condition or failing to complete the bootstrapping process. Redeploying the script means updating or replacing the existing script with the corrected or improved version of the script. Reference: [CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives], Domain 4.0 Troubleshooting, Objective 4.5 Given a scenario, troubleshoot automation/orchestration issues.

The performance issue is caused by the high demand of complex SQL queries on the database server, which consumes a lot of RAM and disk throughput. Increasing caching on the database server would reduce the number of disk reads and writes, as well as improve the response time of the queries by storing frequently accessed data in memory. This would be the best solution to resolve the performance issue. Reference: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, Domain 4.0 Troubleshooting, Objective 4.3 Given a scenario, troubleshoot capacity issues within a cloud environment.

RTO (Recovery Time Objective) is a metric that determines the maximum amount of time that a service can be unavailable or disrupted before it causes unacceptable consequences for the business. RTO is normally measured in minutes, hours, or days, and it is based on the criticality and priority of the service. RTO is one of the key metrics that can determine the service recovery duration, as it defines the target time frame for restoring the service to normal operations after a disaster. For example, if a company has an RTO of four hours for its email service, it means that it aims to recover the email service within four hours after a disaster, such as a server failure or a network outage.

The first thing that the systems administrator must do before planning a penetration test for company resources that are hosted in a public cloud is to consult the cloud services provider’s policies and guidelines. Penetration testing is a type of security assessment that involves simulating an attack on a system or network to identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses. However, not all cloud services providers allow penetration testing on their platforms, or they may have specific rules and requirements for conducting such tests. The systems administrator should check the cloud services provider’s policies and guidelines and obtain their permission and approval before performing any penetration testing. Reference: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, Domain 2.0 Security, Objective 2.4 Given a scenario, implement security automation and orchestration in a cloud environment.

The best options to implement for a public cloud solution for an existing application using lift and shift that requires scalability and external access are a load balancer and a VPN (virtual private network). A load balancer is a device or service that distributes incoming traffic across multiple servers or instances based on various criteria, such as availability, capacity, or performance. A load balancer can improve scalability by balancing the workload and optimizing resource utilization. A VPN is a technology that creates a secure and encrypted connection over a public network, such as the internet. A VPN can provide external access by allowing remote users or sites to connect to the cloud resources as if they were on the same private network. Reference: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, Domain 1.0 Configuration and Deployment, Objective 1.4 Given a scenario, execute a provided deployment plan.

laaS (Infrastructure as a Service) is a public cloud service model that provides access to fundamental compute, network, and storage resources on demand over the public Internet or through dedicated connections. Customers can provision and configure these resources according to their needs, and they have full administrative control at the OS level. This means that customers can install, update, and manage any software or applications they want on the cloud servers, as well as apply their own security and compliance policies. laaS is suitable for companies that require high flexibility and customization of their cloud infrastructure, as well as scalability and cost-efficiency.

A vGPU profile is a configuration option that defines the amount of video RAM (vRAM) and other resources that are allocated to a virtual machine (VM) that uses a virtual graphics processing unit (vGPU). A vGPU profile can affect the rendering performance of a VM, as it determines how much graphics memory and processing power are available for displaying complex graphics content. Selecting vGPU profiles with higher video RAM can most likely solve the issue of poor rendering performance when trying to display 3-D content on virtual desktops, especially at peak times, as it can provide more graphics resources and improve the quality and speed of rendering. References: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 11, section 1.6

A vendor’s conversion tool is a type of software or utility that automates and simplifies the process of converting physical servers to virtual machines by capturing the configuration and data of the physical servers and creating virtual disks and files for the virtual machines. Using the vendor’s conversion tool can be the most efficient conversion method for a systems administrator to use to convert ten physical servers to virtual, as it can save time and effort by avoiding manual steps or errors involved in rebuilding, cloning, or restoring the physical servers to virtual machines. Using the vendor’s conversion tool can also ensure compatibility and consistency, as it can match the hardware and software requirements and settings of the physical servers to the virtual machines. References: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 10, section 1.5

The correct answer is D. Reduce the number of NFSv3 mounts to one.

NFSv3 is a network file system protocol that allows clients to access files stored on a remote server. NFSv3 uses TCP or UDP as the transport layer protocol, and typically runs on port 20491.

One of the known issues with NFSv3 mounts is that they can cause performance degradation and unresponsiveness on the client side if there are too many mounts or if there are network connectivity problems. This is because NFSv3 does not handle connection failures or timeouts gracefully, and may keep retrying to access the server indefinitely, blocking other processes or threads. This can result in slow disk speeds, high CPU usage, and system hangs23.

Therefore, one of the possible solutions to this issue is to reduce the number of NFSv3 mounts to one per hypervisor, instead of one per VM. This way, the hypervisor can manage the access to the shared storage appliance more efficiently, and avoid creating too many TCP connections or UDP packets that may overload the network or the server. Reducing the number of NFSv3 mounts can also simplify the configuration and troubleshooting of the network file system.

Increasing caching on the storage appliance may improve the read performance of the NFSv3 mounts, but it will not solve the underlying issue of connection failures or timeouts. Caching may also introduce data inconsistency or corruption issues if the cache is not synchronized with the server.

Configuring jumbo frames on the hypervisors and storage may improve the network throughput and efficiency of the NFSv3 mounts, but it will not solve the underlying issue of connection failures or timeouts. Jumbo frames are larger than standard Ethernet frames, and require that all devices on the network path support them. Jumbo frames may also introduce fragmentation or compatibility issues if they are not configured properly.

Increasing CPU/RAM resources on affected VMs may improve their performance in general, but it will not solve the underlying issue of connection failures or timeouts. Increasing CPU/RAM resources may also be costly and wasteful if they are not needed for other purposes.

Roles and responsibilities are definitions or descriptions of what each team member or stakeholder is expected to do or perform in a project or process. Roles and responsibilities can help clarify the scope, authority, and accountability of each team member or stakeholder and avoid any confusion or duplication of work. The security team most likely forgot to implement roles and responsibilities when investigating a data breach, as they are all trying to do the same tasks but are interfering with each other’s work. Implementing roles and responsibilities can help improve efficiency and effectiveness, as it can ensure that each team member or stakeholder knows what tasks they need to do and how they need to coordinate with others. References: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 13, section 2.5

A connection string is a parameter that specifies how to connect to a database server or instance. A connection string typically includes information such as the server name, database name, user name, password, and other options. Updating the connection string is the best way to fix the issue of application servers being unable to access the database servers after setting up a DR site on a different zone of the same CSP and replicating the application and database servers using VM replication and log shipping. Updating the connection string can ensure that the application servers can connect to the correct database server or instance in the DR site, as the server name or IP address may have changed after the replication. References: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 10, section 1.5

Replication is a process of copying or synchronizing data from one location to another to ensure consistency and availability. Replication can help set up a disaster recovery (DR) site for a cloud environment, as it can enable data backup and recovery in case of a failure or outage in the primary site. Replication can also improve performance and reliability, as it can reduce latency and load by distributing data across multiple sites. Replication should be configured between the cloud environment and the DR site to ensure data protection and continuity. References: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 10, section 1.5

The best way to resolve the issue of an unusual increase in the read operations that is causing a heavy load in the system that is using a relational database and is running in a VM is to use a cache system to store reading operations. A cache system is a type of storage system that temporarily stores frequently accessed or recently used data in memory for faster retrieval. A cache system can reduce the load on the database system by serving the read requests from the cache instead of querying the database every time. Reference: [CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives], Domain 4.0 Troubleshooting, Objective 4.3 Given a scenario, troubleshoot capacity issues within a cloud environment.

The correct answer is B. Vendor lock-in. Vendor lock-in is a situation where a customer becomes dependent on a certain cloud provider and cannot easily switch to another provider without significant costs or disruptions. This can happen when the customer uses features or services that are only available from that specific provider, or when the customer has a large amount of data stored with the provider that is difficult to migrate. According to the web search results, vendor lock-in is a common concern in cloud computing1234. A service level agreement, a memorandum of understanding, and encrypted data are not barriers to switching providers, as they do not create a dependency on a specific provider or make it difficult to move data. For more information on vendor lock-in and how to avoid it, you can refer to the Cloudflare website1 or the Seagate blog4.

The benchmark results show that the video RAM utilization is at 99%, which is likely causing the application crashes. Video RAM is used to store graphics data and textures that are processed by the GPU. Selecting a higher vGPU profile can help allocate more video RAM to the virtual machines, which can help resolve this issue. A vGPU profile is a predefined configuration that specifies the amount of video RAM, the number of display heads, and the maximum resolution that a virtual machine can use. By selecting a higher vGPU profile, the administrator can increase the performance and stability of the high-frame-rate rendering application. References: [CompTIA Cloud+ CV0-003 Study Guide], Chapter 4, Objective 4.2: Given a scenario, troubleshoot common virtualization issues.

The best feature to reduce the storage consumption of a SAN appliance that is running a VDI environment is deduplication. Deduplication is a process that eliminates redundant or duplicate data blocks or files from a storage system and replaces them with pointers or references to a single copy of data. Deduplication can significantly reduce the storage consumption of a SAN appliance by removing unnecessary data and freeing up disk space. Reference: [CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives], Domain 3.0 Maintenance, Objective 3.3 Given a scenario, analyze system performance using standard tools.

Telnet and FTP are recommended services to be disabled when deploying a server in a cloud platform, as they are insecure protocols that transmit data in plain text and expose credentials and sensitive information to potential attackers12. Remote log-in, DNS, DHCP, and LDAP are not necessarily recommended to be disabled, as they may provide useful functionality for the server and the cloud environment. However, they should be configured properly and secured with encryption, authentication, and authorization mechanisms34.

References: CompTIA Cloud+ CV0-003 Exam Objectives, Objective 4.2: Given a scenario, apply security configurations and compliance controls ; CompTIA Quick Start Guide to Tackling Cloud Security Concerns3

Scalability is the ability of a system to handle increasing or decreasing demand by adding or removing resources accordingly. According to the web search results, scalability is one of the main benefits of using containers in a cloud environment, as containers are lightweight, portable, and independent units of software that can run on any compatible host . A containerized cluster is a group of hosts that run multiple containers and share resources and services. A containerized cluster can scale up or down easily by adding or removing hosts or containers as needed, without affecting the functionality or performance of the applications .

The 3-2-1 backup policy states that there should be three copies of data, stored on two different media, with one copy being off-site. The current backup solution only has one copy of data on one media (the on-site storage server). To comply with the 3-2-1 policy, the systems administrator should configure an off-site storage server for backups, which will provide another copy of data on a different media and location. Reference: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, Domain 3.0 Maintenance, Objective 3.2 Given a scenario, implement backup, restore, disaster recovery and business continuity measures.

The best strategy to migrate the current on-premises workloads to the public cloud for the company that requires at least 80 instances running at all times and wants the workload to be highly available and cost-effective is to create /26 subnets in two regions and run 40 instances on each one. A /26 subnet can accommodate up to 62 hosts, which is enough for 40 instances. By creating subnets in two regions, the company can achieve high availability and redundancy in case one region fails due to a catastrophe. By running 40 instances on each subnet, the company can meet the minimum requirement of 80 instances and also save on costs by avoiding overprovisioning or underutilization of resources. Reference: What is VPN? How It Works, Types of VPN - Kaspersky

The most useful tool to prevent private corporate information from being emailed to external users is data loss prevention (DLP). DLP is a type of security solution that monitors and controls the flow of data in and out of a system or network. It can detect and prevent unauthorized access, transmission, or leakage of sensitive data, such as personal information, financial records, or intellectual property. DLP can also enforce encryption, masking, or deletion of sensitive data to protect its confidentiality. Reference: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, Domain 2.0 Security, Objective 2.5 Given a scenario, apply data security techniques in the cloud.

A production snapshot is a point-in-time copy of the state and data of a production server or instance. It can be used to restore the server or instance to the exact state it was in when the snapshot was taken, in case of a failure, error, or corruption. A production snapshot can help to ensure a quick rollback in case an issue arises during an application upgrade, as it can revert the changes made by the upgrade and restore the previous version of the application. A production snapshot can also preserve the configuration and settings of the server or instance, as well as the application data and dependencies. A production snapshot is different from a backup, which is a copy of the data only, and may not include the state or configuration of the server or instance. References: CompTIA Cloud+ CV0-003 Study Guide, Chapter 2: Deploying a Cloud Environment, page 75-76; Snapshots vs Backups: Key Differences and Similarities.

Allocated guest resources is what the administrator should check next after receiving an email from the virtualized environment’s alarms indicating the memory was reaching full utilization and noticing that one out of a five-host cluster has a utilization of 500GB out of 512GB of RAM. Allocated guest resources are the amount of resources or capacity that are assigned or reserved for each guest system or device within a host system or device. Allocated guest resources can affect performance and utilization of host system or device by determining how much resources or capacity are available or used by each guest system or device. Allocated guest resources should be checked next by comparing them with the actual usage or demand of each guest system or device, as well as identifying any overallocation or underallocation of resources that may cause inefficiency or wastage.

The driver is the most likely cause of the drop in network performance after a hardware upgrade on a private cloud system. A driver is a software component that enables communication and interaction between hardware devices and operating systems or applications. A driver may need to be updated or reinstalled after a hardware upgrade to ensure compatibility and functionality. If the driver is outdated, missing, or corrupted, it may affect the network performance of the system.

A CDN (Content Delivery Network) solution is a service that provides faster delivery of web content to the users distributed worldwide. A CDN is essentially a group of servers that are strategically placed across the globe with the purpose of accelerating the delivery of web content. A CDN can improve the user experience for a website by:

• Reducing the download speeds and latency for the end users, as they can access the web content from a server that is geographically closer to them, rather than from the origin server that may be far away.
• Increasing the availability and reliability of the web content, as a CDN can handle high traffic volumes and provide redundancy and failover in case of server failures or network issues.
• Enhancing the security and performance of the web content, as a CDN can provide features such as caching, compression, encryption, and DDoS protection.

Some examples of popular CDN providers are Cloudflare1, Azure2, and Amazon CloudFront3.

Migrating the VM to a different host is a common technique to improve the performance of a VM that is suffering from resource contention or contention on the physical server. By moving the VM to a different host, the administrator can:

Reduce the stress and load on the original host, which may be under stress due to a peak usage workload.

Increase the availability and reliability of the VM, which may be experiencing slow performance due to resource contention or contention on the original host.

Balance the workload and resource utilization across multiple hosts, which may improve the overall performance and efficiency of the cloud environment.

Migrating the VM to a different host can be done manually or automatically, depending on the configuration and capabilities of the cloud platform. Some cloud platforms support live migration, which allows moving a VM to a different host without interrupting its operation or service. Other cloud platforms require shutting down or pausing the VM before migrating it to a different host .

These are the factors that should be considered for capacity planning in a cloud environment. Capacity planning is a process of estimating and allocating the necessary resources and performance to meet the current and future demands of cloud applications or services. Capacity planning can help to optimize costs, efficiency, and reliability of cloud resources or services. The factors that should be considered for capacity planning are:

• Requirements: These are the specifications or expectations of the cloud applications or services, such as functionality, availability, scalability, security, etc. Requirements can help to determine the type, amount, and quality of resources or services needed to meet the objectives and goals of the cloud applications or services.
• Licensing: This is the agreement or contract that grants customers the right to use or access certain cloud resources or services for a specific period or fee. Licensing can affect the cost, availability, and compliance of cloud resources or services. Licensing can help to determine the budget, duration, and scope of using or accessing cloud resources or services.
• Trend analysis: This is the technique of analyzing historical and current data to identify patterns, changes, or fluctuations in demand or usage of cloud resources or services. Trend analysis can help to predict and anticipate future demand or usage of cloud resources or services, as well as identify any opportunities or challenges that may arise.

A deployment template is a file that defines the resources and configurations that are required to deploy a cloud solution1. A deployment template can be used to automate the deployment of cloud infrastructure for clients, ensuring consistency and efficiency2. However, if the deployment template was modified, either intentionally or accidentally, it could cause discrepancies from the baseline in the configuration of infrastructure that was deployed to a new client. For example, the template could have different parameters, values, or dependencies that affect the outcome of the deployment3. Therefore, the most likely cause of the issue is that the deployment template was modified.

References:

1: What is a template? - Azure Resource Manager | Microsoft Docs3

2: Automate cloud deployments with Azure Resource Manager templates - Learn | Microsoft Docs3

3: CompTIA Cloud+ CV0-003 Exam Objectives, Objective 2.2: Given a scenario, deploy and test a cloud solution

Spinning up a new web server is what the administrator should perform first to speed up the response of the e-commerce platform that is hosted in a public cloud and starts to experience a slow response after announcing a big sales promotion. A web server is a system or service that hosts and delivers web content, such as web pages, images, videos, etc., to clients over a network or internet connection. A web server can affect the response of an e-commerce platform by determining how fast it can process and serve web requests or responses from clients. Spinning up a new web server can speed up the response of an e-commerce platform by providing benefits such as:

• Scalability: Spinning up a new web server can increase the scalability of the e-commerce platform by adding more capacity or resources to handle the increased demand or load caused by the sales promotion, without affecting the existing web servers.
• Performance: Spinning up a new web server can improve the performance of the e-commerce platform by reducing the latency or overhead of processing and serving web requests or responses from clients, which may cause delays or errors.

The first step in any incident response procedure is to contain the incident and prevent it from spreading or causing more damage. In this scenario, the systems administrator is reviewing the logs from a company’s IDS and notices a large amount of outgoing traffic from a particular server. The administrator then runs a scan on the server, which detects malware that cannot be removed. This indicates that the server is compromised and may be sending malicious or sensitive data to an external source. Therefore, the best thing to do first is to disconnect the server from the network, which will isolate it from the rest of the system and stop the data exfiltration. Determining the root cause, performing a more intrusive scan, and restoring the server from a backup are all important steps, but they should be done after the server is disconnected from the network. References: CompTIA Cloud+ CV0-003 Certification Study Guide, Chapter 10, Incident Response Procedures, page 1771.

RAID 5 is a disk array configuration that uses parity to provide fault tolerance and data recovery. RAID 5 can tolerate the failure of one disk, but not two or more disks. If a second disk fails during the resynchronization process, the data on the RAID 5 array will be lost and unrecoverable. The only way to make the server fully operational is to restore the data from a backup source.

The issue of an insecure firewall configuration state after every cloud application deployment is likely caused by a flaw in the IaC code used during the deployment. IaC stands for Infrastructure as Code, which is a method of managing and provisioning IT infrastructure using code, rather than manual configuration1. IaC allows teams to automate the setup and management of their infrastructure, making it more efficient and consistent. However, if the IaC code contains errors, vulnerabilities, or misconfigurations, it can result in security issues or compliance violations in the deployed infrastructure2. Therefore, to provide a permanent fix for the issue, the IaC code used during the deployment should be validated and tested to ensure that it meets the security requirements and best practices for firewall configuration. The IaC code can be validated using tools such as Azure Resource Manager Template Toolkit, AWS CloudFormation Linter, or Terraform Validate. These tools can check the syntax and semantics of the IaC code, and identify any potential errors or inconsistencies before deployment

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the technology that, when used in conjunction with cloud services, would facilitate the best solution for finding content in images. AI is a branch of computer science that aims to create machines or systems that can perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as reasoning, learning, decision making, etc. AI can be used to analyze images and extract information such as objects, faces, text, emotions, etc., using techniques such as computer vision, machine learning, natural language processing, etc. AI can help to find content in images faster, more accurately, and more efficiently than manual methods.

The best storage type to deploy for the new file storage service is NVMe. NVMe stands for Non-Volatile Memory Express, and it is a protocol that allows faster access to data stored on solid state drives (SSDs). NVMe can deliver high performance, low latency, and parallelism for the file storage service. NVMe can also support fast read/write times for the targeted users, which is the key requirement for the project. Since the budget for the project is not a concern, NVMe can be a suitable choice for the file storage service. References: CompTIA Cloud+ CV0-003 Certification Study Guide, Chapter 4, Objective 4.1: Given a scenario, implement cloud storage solutions.

SOA stands for Start of Authority, and it is a type of DNS record that contains information about a DNS zone, such as the name of the primary name server, the email address of the zone administrator, the serial number of the zone, and other parameters. The serial number is used to indicate when a zone has been updated, and it is incremented by the primary name server whenever a change is made to the zone data. The secondary name servers use the serial number to determine if they need to request a zone transfer from the primary name server to synchronize their data.

References: [CompTIA Cloud+ Study Guide], page 207.

A web-server farm is a group of web servers that work together to provide high availability and scalability for web applications1. A web-server farm can handle a large number of requests from clients by distributing the workload among the servers.

A load-balancing appliance is a device that sits between the clients and the web servers and distributes the incoming requests to the servers based on a predefined algorithm2. A load-balancing appliance can improve the performance, reliability, and security of a web-server farm by providing the following benefits2:

• Load balancing: It ensures that no single server is overloaded and that all servers are utilized efficiently.
• Failover: It detects and redirects requests from failed or unavailable servers to healthy ones.
• Health monitoring: It periodically checks the status and performance of the servers and reports any issues or anomalies.
• SSL offloading: It terminates the SSL connections from the clients and forwards the requests to the servers in plain text, reducing the encryption overhead on the servers.
• Caching: It stores frequently requested content in its memory and serves it to the clients, reducing the network traffic and load on the servers.

A clustered web server infrastructure is a configuration where multiple web servers are connected to a shared storage device and appear as a single logical server to the clients3. A clustered web server infrastructure can provide high availability and fault tolerance for web applications, but it does not provide load balancing or scalability. Therefore, option A is incorrect.

A containerized application is an application that is packaged with its dependencies and runtime environment in a lightweight and portable unit called a container. A containerized application can run on any platform that supports container technology, such as Docker or Kubernetes. A containerized application can provide portability, consistency, and isolation for web applications, but it does not provide load balancing or scalability by itself. Therefore, option C is incorrect.

Distribution of web servers across different regions and zones is a strategy that involves deploying web servers in multiple geographic locations to serve clients from different areas. Distribution of web servers across different regions and zones can provide low latency, high availability, and disaster recovery for web applications, but it does not provide load balancing or scalability within each region or zone. Therefore, option D is incorrect.

The correct answer is C and F. iSCSI and FC.

iSCSI and FC are protocols that the company can use to share the disks between the nodes of the cluster to access the same LUN. A LUN, or logical unit number, is a unique identifier for a block of storage space that can be accessed by a host system or a cluster of systems. iSCSI and FC are both block-level protocols that allow transferring data between the storage device and the host system or cluster over a network.

iSCSI stands for Internet Small Computer System Interface, which is a protocol that uses TCP/IP to send SCSI commands over an Ethernet network. iSCSI can provide a low-cost and flexible solution for sharing disks between the nodes of the cluster, as it does not require any special hardware or cables, and can use existing network infrastructure. iSCSI can also support encryption and authentication for security purposes .

FC stands for Fibre Channel, which is a protocol that uses optical fiber cables to send SCSI commands over a dedicated network. FC can provide a high-performance and reliable solution for sharing disks between the nodes of the cluster, as it offers high bandwidth, low latency, and error correction. FC can also support zoning and masking for security purposes .

CIFS, or Common Internet File System, is a file-level protocol that allows sharing files and folders over a network. CIFS does not support sharing disks or accessing LUNs at the block level.

FTP, or File Transfer Protocol, is a protocol that allows transferring files between two systems over a network. FTP does not support sharing disks or accessing LUNs at the block level.

NFS, or Network File System, is a file-level protocol that allows sharing files and folders over a network. NFS does not support sharing disks or accessing LUNs at the block level.

RAID 10, or Redundant Array of Independent Disks 10, is a storage configuration that combines mirroring and striping to provide high performance and fault tolerance. RAID 10 is not a protocol that allows sharing disks or accessing LUNs over a network.

Single sign-on (SSO) is a technology that allows a user to access multiple applications or services with a single login and authentication process. SSO can enhance security by reducing the number of passwords that a user has to remember and enter, and by enabling centralized management and enforcement of security policies .

SSO can help address the issue of multiple SaaS-based cloud applications requiring authentication upon access. By implementing SSO, an administrator can:

Simplify the user experience and increase productivity by eliminating the need to enter multiple usernames and passwords for different applications .

Improve the security and compliance of the applications by using a trusted identity provider (IdP) that can verify the user’s identity and credentials, and grant or deny access based on predefined rules .

Reduce the risk of password breaches, phishing, or identity theft by minimizing the exposure of passwords to third-party applications or malicious actors .

A misconfiguration in the firewall is the most likely cause of the issue. A firewall is a security device or service that controls the incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predefined rules. A firewall can help protect the cloud-hosted web application and the managed database from unauthorized or malicious access. However, if the firewall rules are not configured properly, they can also block the legitimate communication between the web application and the database. For example, if the firewall rules deny the port or protocol that the web application uses to connect to the database, the web application will not be able to receive data from the database. To fix this issue, the cloud engineer should review and update the firewall rules to allow the necessary traffic between the web application and the database. References: CompTIA Cloud+ CV0-003 Certification Study Guide, Chapter 9, Objective 9.2: Given a scenario, troubleshoot common security issues.

A staging environment is a type of development environment that is used to test and demonstrate the final product before deploying it to the production environment. A staging environment can help the web consultancy group avoid the issues of delivering a different or faulty product to the customers, as it can ensure that the product is fully functional, compatible, and secure. A staging environment can also help the group showcase the product to the customers in a realistic and controlled way, as it can mimic the production environment and avoid any interference from other development activities. A staging environment can be leveraged by using cloud services that allow for easy provisioning, scaling, and deployment of web applications

The correct answer is B. Community cloud.

A community cloud is a cloud deployment model that involves a shared infrastructure among several organizations that have common interests, goals, or requirements. A community cloud can provide a high degree of security, privacy, and compliance, as well as cost savings and efficiency, for the participating organizations. A community cloud can be managed by one or more of the organizations, or by a third-party service provider .

A private cloud is a cloud deployment model that involves a dedicated infrastructure for a single organization. A private cloud can provide a high degree of control, customization, and security for the organization, but it may also incur higher costs and complexity. A private cloud can be managed by the organization itself, or by a third-party service provider .

A hybrid cloud is a cloud deployment model that involves a combination of two or more different cloud models, such as private, public, or community clouds. A hybrid cloud can provide the benefits of both models, such as scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness, as well as address the challenges of each model, such as security, compliance, and performance. A hybrid cloud can be managed by the organization itself, or by one or more service providers .

A public cloud is a cloud deployment model that involves a shared infrastructure for multiple organizations or individuals. A public cloud can provide a high degree of scalability, accessibility, and affordability for the users, but it may also pose some risks in terms of security, privacy, and compliance. A public cloud is managed by a third-party service provider .

A misconfiguration in the firewall can block the communication between the web application and the managed database, preventing the web application from receiving data. A firewall is a network security device that monitors and controls incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predefined rules1. A deployment script template is a way to automate the deployment of resources and configurations in Azure Resource Manager1. If the script template contains incorrect or conflicting rules for the firewall, it can cause the issue.

References: CompTIA Cloud+ CV0-003 Exam Objectives, Objective 2.2: Given a scenario, deploy and test a cloud solution ; Use deployment scripts in templates - Azure Resource Manager1

A web application firewall (WAF) is a security solution that monitors and filters the traffic between a web application and the Internet. A WAF can help improve the site security by blocking malicious requests, preventing SQL injection attacks, mitigating cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks, and enforcing security policies. A WAF can be deployed as a cloud service or as a device in front of the load balancer. A WAF is more suitable than an API gateway, an IPS/IDS, or a reverse proxy for the website architecture described in the question. References: [CompTIA Cloud+ CV0-003 Certification Study Guide], Chapter 9, Objective 9.1: Given a scenario, apply security controls and techniques.

The correct answer is C. Legal hold.

A legal hold is a process that organizations use to preserve relevant electronic information when they anticipate litigation or have an active e-discovery request. A legal hold requires that certain email messages be retained and unaltered until they are no longer required for court use. Legal hold requirements apply both to the content of messages as well as the metadata which can provide proof of delivery and other critical non-repudiation information12.

Email archiving is a process that organizations use to store email messages for long-term retention, compliance, and backup purposes. Email archiving does not necessarily imply that the email messages are preserved for legal purposes, although some email archiving solutions may offer legal hold capabilities1.

Version control is a process that software developers use to manage changes to source code and other files in a project. Version control allows developers to track, compare, and revert changes, as well as collaborate with other developers. Version control does not apply to email messages or legal hold.

File integrity monitoring is a process that security professionals use to detect unauthorized or malicious changes to files and directories on a system. File integrity monitoring helps to protect the system from malware, data breaches, and configuration errors. File integrity monitoring does not apply to email messages or legal hold.

 Incremental backups only back up the files that have changed since the last backup, which minimizes the backup time and the performance impact on the application. Differential backups back up all the files that have changed since the last full backup, which can take longer and consume more storage space. Database dump and full backups are not suitable for weekday requirements, as they back up the entire database or filesystem, which can be time-consuming and resource-intensive.

References: CompTIA Cloud+ CV0-003 Exam Objectives, Objective 3.3: Given a scenario, implement backup, restore, disaster recovery and business continuity solutions

SHA-256 is the best method to ensure that downloaded images are not modified in transit. SHA-256 is a type of cryptographic hash function that can generate a unique and fixed-length digest for any input data. The digest can be used to verify the integrity and authenticity of the data, as any modification or tampering of the data would result in a different digest. SHA-256 is more secure and reliable than MD5, which is an older and weaker hash function that has been proven to be vulnerable to collisions and attacks12. AES-256 and serpent-256 are types of encryption algorithms, not hash functions, and they are used to protect the confidentiality of the data, not the integrity. IPSec is a network security protocol that can use encryption and hashing to secure data in transit, but it is not a method by itself

Volume-based licensing is a model where the cost of the software is based on the number of licenses purchased1. This model is commonly used for software that is installed on a specific number of devices, such as antivirus software or office productivity suites1. Therefore, the number of machines is the most important factor when considering licensing costs in this model.

References: CompTIA Cloud+ CV0-003 Exam Objectives, Objective 1.2: Given a scenario, compare and contrast various cloud service models ; Cloud+ Exam CV0-003: CompTIA Cloud+ Licensing Models1

Anti-affinity is a rule that specifies that certain virtual machines should not run on the same physical host. This can help to improve availability and performance by avoiding single points of failure and resource contention. For example, if the database nodes are running on the same host and the host fails, the entire database cluster will be unavailable. By using anti-affinity rules, the systems administrator can ensure the database nodes are distributed across different hosts in the virtualization environment. References: CompTIA Cloud+ CV0-003 Study Guide, Chapter 2: Deploying a Cloud Environment, page 76.

A VM-level snapshot is a point-in-time copy of the state and data of a virtual machine (VM). A VM-level snapshot can be used as a quick method to roll back to an earlier state, if necessary, as it can restore the VM to the exact condition it was in when the snapshot was taken. A VM-level snapshot can be useful for performing an in-place upgrade on a guest VM operating system, as it can allow the administrator to revert to the previous operating system version in case of any issues or errors. References: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 10, section 1.5

Scalability is the ability of a system or service to handle increased workload or demand by adding or removing resources or capacity as needed. Scalability is relevant to capacity planning in a SaaS environment, as it can affect the performance, availability, and cost of the SaaS service. Scalability can help optimize the capacity planning process by ensuring that the SaaS service has enough resources or capacity to meet the current and future needs of the customers without wasting or underutilizing resources or capacity. References: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 12, section 2.2

Generic Network Virtualization Encapsulation (GENEVE) is a type of network virtualization technology that creates logical networks or segments that span across multiple physical networks or locations. GENEVE can satisfy the requirement of transporting multiple payload types in a virtual network in a private cloud environment, as it can support various network protocols and services by using a flexible and extensible header format that can encapsulate different types of payloads within UDP packets. GENEVE can also provide interoperability and compatibility, as it can integrate with existing network virtualization technologies such as VXLAN, STT, or NVGRE. References: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 15, section 2.8

Regression testing is a type of testing that ensures that new code or changes to existing code do not break or degrade the functionality of the software. Regression testing is often used in software development workflows to verify that new features or bug fixes do not introduce new errors or affect the performance of the software. Regression testing can help prevent negative impacts on existing automation activities by checking that the new code is compatible with the existing code and does not cause any unexpected failures or errors. References: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 19, section 4.1

 The firewall rules are the set of policies that define which traffic is allowed or denied between different network segments or devices. The firewall rules can affect the redirect from HTTP to HTTPS on the web server, as they can block or allow traffic based on ports and protocols. If the firewall rules are not configured properly to allow HTTPS traffic on port 443, the application may respond with a connection time-out message. The administrator should verify the firewall rules next to ensure that HTTPS traffic is permitted between the web server and its clients. References: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 15, section 2.8

Flash memory

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One possible answer is:

D. Migrate the data to flash storage.

Flash storage is a type of solid-state storage technology that uses flash memory chips to store data. Flash storage has several advantages over NL-SAS storage, which is a hybrid of SATA and SAS technologies that uses spinning disks to store data. Flash storage can provide much faster performance, lower latency, higher reliability, and lower power consumption than NL-SAS storage12. Therefore, migrating the data to flash storage can help correct the latency issue for the critical application. However, flash storage may also be more expensive and have lower capacity than NL-SAS storage, so these factors should also be considered before making the migration decision12.

A VM import connector is a tool that allows you to import virtual machines from your on-premises environment into the cloud using a graphical user interface. This is the fastest and easiest way to migrate a legacy web application without requiring installation media or changing the configuration of the VM. The VM import connector can also handle the disk size and network bandwidth limitations of the on-premises VM environment. References: EC2 VM Import Connector | AWS News Blog, Import a VMware Virtual Machine to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, Domain 2.0: Deployment, Objective 2.1: Given a scenario, execute and implement solutions using appropriate cloud migration tools and methods.

The correct answer is C and D.

C. Fix the file permissions with read-only access to the owner of the file.

D. Open port 22 access for the computer’s public IP address.

The authorized_keys file on the server should have read-only access for the owner of the file, and no access for anyone else. This ensures that only the owner can read the public keys that are authorized to log in, and no one can modify or delete them. The file permissions can be fixed with the command chmod 400 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on the server. This is a recommended security practice for SSH key-based authentication123.

The computer that wants to log in to the server using SSH key-based authentication needs to have access to port 22 on the server, which is the default port for SSH service. This can be done by opening port 22 access for the computer’s public IP address on the server’s firewall or security group settings. This allows the computer to initiate an SSH connection to the server and authenticate with its private key. Opening port 21, which is used for FTP service, is not relevant or secure for SSH key-based authentication1.

One of the main benefits of cloud computing is that you only pay for the resources that you use. However, this also means that you need to manage your cloud resources efficiently and avoid paying for idle or unused resources1.

Shutting down the environment after work hours is a process that can be automated to best reduce cost in a cloud environment that must only be accessed during work hours. This process involves stopping or terminating the cloud resources, such as virtual machines, databases, load balancers, etc., that are not needed outside of the work hours. This can significantly reduce the cloud bill by avoiding charges for compute, storage, network, and other services that are not in use2.

The other options are not the best processes to automate to reduce cost in this scenario:

• Option A: Scaling of the environment after work hours. Scaling is a process that involves adjusting the number or size of cloud resources to match the demand or workload. Scaling can be done manually or automatically using triggers or policies. Scaling can help optimize the performance and availability of a cloud environment, but it does not necessarily reduce the cost. Scaling down the environment after work hours may reduce some costs, but it may still incur charges for the remaining resources. Scaling up the environment before work hours may increase the cost and also introduce delays or errors in provisioning new resources3.
• Option B: Implementing access control after work hours. Access control is a process that involves defining and enforcing rules and policies for who can access what resources in a cloud environment. Access control can help improve the security and compliance of a cloud environment, but it does not directly affect the cost. Implementing access control after work hours may prevent unauthorized access to the environment, but it does not stop or terminate the resources that are still running and consuming cloud services4.
• Option D: Blocking external access to the environment after work hours. Blocking external access is a process that involves restricting or denying network traffic from outside sources to a cloud environment. Blocking external access can help protect the environment from potential attacks or breaches, but it does not impact the cost. Blocking external access after work hours may prevent unwanted requests or connections to the environment, but it does not shut down or release the resources that are still active and generating cloud charges.

A hybrid cloud is a type of cloud deployment model that combines two or more different types of clouds, such as public, private, or community clouds, into a single integrated environment. A hybrid cloud can meet the requirements for implementing cloud services with SSO to cloud infrastructure, on-premises directory service, and RBAC for IT staff, as it can provide flexibility, scalability, and security for cloud-based and on-premises resources. A hybrid cloud can also enable seamless and secure access to cloud infrastructure using SSO with directory service federation, as well as granular and consistent control over IT staff permissions using RBAC across different cloud environments. References: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 8, section 1.2

A web application firewall (WAF) is a type of network security device or software that monitors and filters HTTP traffic between a web application and the Internet. A WAF can help mitigate the risk of exploitation of an SQL injection vulnerability reported on a web application while it is corrected by the development team, as it can detect and block any malicious requests or queries that attempt to inject SQL commands into the web application’s database. A WAF can also help protect the web application from other common web-based attacks, such as cross-site scripting (XSS), remote file inclusion (RFI), or denial-of-service (DoS). References: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 14, section 2.7

A virtual application delivery controller (vADC) is a type of network device or software that provides load balancing, security, and optimization for web applications or services. Deploying a vADC appliance can help prevent an outage of the organization’s web server infrastructure due to a spike in network traffic, as it can distribute the traffic across multiple web servers and improve the performance and availability of web applications or services. Deploying a vADC appliance can also provide mitigation methods such as DDoS protection, SSL offloading, and caching to enhance the security and efficiency of web traffic delivery. References: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 15, section 2.8

An active-active site is a type of disaster recovery (DR) site that runs simultaneously with the primary site and handles part of the normal workload or traffic. An active-active site can help maintain maximum availability for a SaaS service, as it can provide load balancing, redundancy, and failover capabilities for the SaaS service in case of an outage or disruption at the primary site. An active-active site can also improve performance and scalability, as it can distribute the workload or traffic across multiple sites and handle increased demand or peak periods. References: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 10, section 1.5

Long-term support (LTS) is a type of release cycle that provides extended support and maintenance for software products or operating systems. LTS releases typically have longer end-of-life dates than regular releases, as they receive security updates, bug fixes, and patches for several years after their initial release date. LTS releases can also offer higher stability, reliability, and compatibility than regular releases, as they undergo more testing and quality assurance processes before being released. LTS is the best OS build for a systems administrator to use when provisioning VMs in a cloud environment and being told to select an OS build with the furthest end-of-life date. References: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 11, section 1.6

Checking the logs on the VM is the next step that the administrator should take if the cloud SQL database has stopped running after an update deployment. Logs are records of events and activities that occur on a system or application. Logs can provide useful information for troubleshooting and identifying the root cause of an issue. The administrator should look for any errors, warnings, or messages that indicate what happened to the SQL database service and why it stopped running.

Database replication is the best technique to migrate databases from an on-premises IaaS-hosted environment to a public DBaaS solution. Database replication is a process of copying data from one database server to another database server in real-time or near real-time. Database replication can ensure data consistency and availability across different locations and platforms. Database replication can facilitate migration by synchronizing data between on-premises databases and cloud databases.

A /26 subnet is a subnet that has a network prefix of 26 bits and a host prefix of 6 bits. A /26 subnet can support up to 64 hosts (62 usable hosts) and has a subnet mask of 255.255.255.192. Creating two /26 subnets in different regions can best meet the business requirements for deploying a high availability, horizontally auto-scaling solution that has a peak capacity of 60 nodes per region and five reserved network IP addresses per subnet. Creating two /26 subnets can provide enough host addresses for the peak capacity and the reserved addresses, as well as allow for some growth or redundancy. Creating the subnets in different regions can provide high availability and horizontal auto-scaling, as it can distribute the workload across multiple locations and scale out or in based on demand. References: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 15, section 2.8

Volume-based licensing is a pricing model that charges the customers based on the amount of usage or consumption of a software product or service. The more the customers use the software, the higher the costs will be. This model is suitable for applications that have variable or seasonal demand patterns. Examples of volume-based licensing are AWS Lambda, Azure Functions, Google Cloud Run, etc.

A root cause analysis is what will most likely be requested by the Chief Information Officer (CIO) to understand the issue and its resolution after a system compromise that was resolved by the engineering team after 12 hours. A root cause analysis is a technique of investigating and identifying the underlying or fundamental cause or reason for an incident or issue that affects or may affect the normal operation or performance of a system or service. A root cause analysis can help to understand the issue and its resolution by providing information such as:

• What happened: This describes what occurred during the incident or issue, such as symptoms, effects, impacts, etc.
• Why it happened: This explains why the incident or issue occurred, such as triggers, factors, conditions, etc.
• How it was resolved: This details how the incident or issue was fixed or mitigated, such as actions, steps, methods, etc.
• How it can be prevented: This suggests how the incident or issue can be avoided or reduced in the future, such as recommendations, improvements, changes, etc.

CASB (Cloud Access Security Broker) is what should be deployed to monitor and control the use of multiple SaaS-based business applications in a cloud environment. SaaS (Software as a Service) is a cloud service model that provides customers with access to software applications hosted on remote servers over a network or internet connection. SaaS can provide customers with convenience, flexibility, and scalability, but it may also introduce security risks such as data breaches, leaks, losses, etc., especially if customers have multiple SaaS subscriptions from different providers. CASB is a tool or service that acts as an intermediary between customers and SaaS providers. CASB can help to monitor and control the use of multiple SaaS subscriptions by providing features such as:

• Visibility: CASB can provide visibility into what SaaS applications are being used, by whom, when, where, how, etc., as well as identify any unauthorized or suspicious activities.
• Compliance: CASB can provide compliance with various laws, regulations, standards, policies, etc., that apply to SaaS applications and data, such as GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, etc., as well as enforce them using rules or actions.
• Security: CASB can provide security for SaaS applications and data by detecting and preventing any threats or attacks, such as malware, phishing, ransomware, etc., as well as protecting them using encryption, authentication, authorization, etc.

TCP port 3389 is the default port used by Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) to connect to a remote system or application over a network. Opening TCP port 3389 on the firewall or network device will most likely solve the issue of users experiencing a connection timeout error when trying to use RDP to connect to an application, as it will allow RDP traffic to pass through. If TCP port 3389 is closed or blocked, RDP traffic will be denied or dropped, resulting in a connection timeout error. References: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 15, section 2.8

The SA would do the other three regardless of the need to alter configurations. In this situation, the SA would have to present the change to the CCB in order to do the alteration.

There is no clarification on whether the change management process has been gone through. Any changes, regardless of how small or big, must go through the change management process. This allows proposals to be heard by end-users, management, and possibly stockholders. From there, it will be reviewed and either approved or denied, with reasons specified. From there, the administrator(s) can do whatever processes are necessary.

Change management is a process or procedure that defines the steps, roles, and responsibilities for implementing, documenting, and communicating any changes or updates to a system or service. Change management can help ensure that any changes or updates are done in a controlled and consistent manner, minimizing any risks or impacts to the system or service. Performing change management is the first thing that a systems administrator should do before altering the configuration of one of the finance department’s database servers, as it can ensure that the change request is approved, authorized, tested, and verified before applying it to the database server. References: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 13, section 2.5

On firewall 3, change the DENY 0.0.0.0 entry to rule 3 not rule 1.

Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) protection is a type of security solution that detects and mitigates DDoS attacks that aim to overwhelm or disrupt a system or service by sending large volumes of traffic from multiple sources. DDoS protection can prevent such disruptive traffic from reaching the web servers by filtering out malicious or unwanted traffic and allowing only legitimate traffic to pass through. DDoS protection can also help maintain the availability and functionality of web services and applications during a DDoS attack. References: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 14, section 2.7

IP address management (IPAM) is a type of tool or system that automates and standardizes the allocation, tracking, and management of IP addresses in an IP network. IPAM can help reduce administrative overhead for an IaaS provider that has numerous devices and services that are commissioned and decommissioned automatically on an ongoing basis, as it can simplify and centralize the process of assigning and reclaiming IP addresses for different devices and services without manual intervention or errors. IPAM can also help optimize network performance and security, as it can monitor and report any issues or conflicts related to IP addresses. References: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 15, section 2.8

IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) is the cloud deployment model that the technician should use to deploy two virtual machines in preparation for the configuration of a financial application next week. IaaS is a cloud service model that provides basic computing resources such as servers, storage, network, etc., to the customers. The customers have full control and flexibility over these resources and can install and configure any software they need on them. IaaS is suitable for deploying virtual machines, as it allows the customers to choose their preferred OS, applications, settings, etc., and customize them according to their needs.

Raising a problem ticket is the first action that the administrator should take while working on the resolution of a security issue on the OS of a VM that is running a facility-management application in a cloud environment. A problem ticket is a record of an incident or issue that affects or may affect the normal operation or performance of a system or service. A problem ticket contains information such as description, priority, status, root cause, solution, etc., that can help to track and manage the problem resolution process. Raising a problem ticket can help to communicate and document the security issue, assign responsibility and accountability, monitor progress and performance, and prevent recurrence.

These are the network ports that are required from a security perspective to copy a large set of files between the private and public cloud through a VPN tunnel. A VPN (Virtual Private Network) tunnel is a secure and encrypted connection that allows data to be transferred between two networks or locations over the public internet. To copy files between the private and public cloud, the following ports are needed:

• Port 22: This is the port used by SSH (Secure Shell) protocol, which is a method of remotely accessing and managing cloud resources or systems using a command-line interface. SSH can also be used to securely transfer files using SCP (Secure Copy Protocol) or SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol).
• Port 443: This is the port used by HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure), which is a protocol that encrypts and secures web traffic. HTTPS can also be used to transfer files using web browsers or tools such as curl or wget.
• Port 445: This is the port used by SMB (Server Message Block) protocol, which is a protocol that allows file sharing and access over a network. SMB can also be used to transfer files using tools such as robocopy or rsync.

These are the actions that the administrator should perform to comply with the security requirement of isolating production, QA, and development servers from each other in a public cloud environment:

• Create separate virtual networks for production, QA, and development servers: A virtual network is a logical isolation of network resources or systems within a cloud environment. Creating separate virtual networks for different types of servers can help to segregate them from each other and prevent direct communication or interference.
• Move the servers to the appropriate virtual network: Moving the servers to the appropriate virtual network can help to assign them to their respective roles and functions, as well as ensure that they follow the network policies and rules of their virtual network.
• Apply a network security group to each virtual network that denies all traffic except for the firewall: A network security group is a set of rules or policies that control and filter inbound and outbound network traffic for a virtual network or system. Applying a network security group to each virtual network that denies all traffic except for the firewall can help to enforce security and compliance by blocking any unauthorized or unwanted traffic between different types of servers, while allowing only necessary traffic through the firewall.

This is the best definition of serverless computing that explains how it is different from using VMs (Virtual Machines). Serverless computing is a cloud service model that provides customers with a platform to run applications or functions without having to manage or provision any underlying infrastructure or resources, such as servers, storage, network, OS, etc. Serverless computing is different from using VMs in the following ways:

• Serverless computing allows developers to focus on writing code and organizations to focus on business, rather than spending time and effort on managing or scaling VMs or other infrastructure components.
• Serverless computing is event-driven and pay-per-use, which means that applications or functions are executed only when triggered by a specific event or request, and customers are charged only for the resources consumed during the execution time.
• Serverless computing is more scalable and flexible than using VMs, as it can automatically adjust the capacity and performance of applications or functions according to demand or workload, without requiring any manual intervention or configuration.

An IPSec tunnel is what would best meet the requirements of establishing a connection between the on-premises data center and the new CSP infrastructure that is secure at all times and provides service for all users inside the organization with low latency. IPSec (Internet Protocol Security) is a protocol that encrypts and secures network traffic over IP networks. IPSec tunnel is a mode of IPSec that creates a virtual private network (VPN) tunnel between two endpoints, such as routers, firewalls, gateways, etc., and encrypts and secures all traffic that passes through it. An IPSec tunnel can meet the requirements by providing:

• Security: An IPSec tunnel can protect network traffic from interception, modification, spoofing, etc., by using encryption, authentication, integrity, etc., mechanisms.
• Service: An IPSec tunnel can provide service for all users inside the organization by allowing them to access and use network resources or services on both ends of the tunnel, regardless of their physical location.
• Low latency: An IPSec tunnel can provide low latency by reducing the number of hops or devices that network traffic has to pass through between the endpoints of the tunnel.

Moving the digital certificate to the load balancer and configuring the communication between the load balancer and the VMs to use HTTP are two actions that will decrease the CPU utilization of the VMs that are running behind a network load balancer with two VMs, each with its own digital certificate configured. Moving the digital certificate to the load balancer will offload the SSL/TLS encryption and decryption tasks from the VMs to the load balancer, which can reduce the CPU overhead and improve performance. Configuring the communication between the load balancer and the VMs to use HTTP will eliminate the need for encryption and decryption between them, which can also reduce CPU consumption. However, this may introduce security risks if sensitive data is transmitted over HTTP.

Feature compatibility is an important consideration for a successful cloud-to-cloud migration, as different cloud providers may have different features, services, APIs, and standards. If the application relies on specific features that are not available or compatible with the target cloud provider, the migration may fail or incur additional costs and complexity. The administrator should assess and compare the features of both cloud providers and ensure they meet the application requirements.

The wrong gateway is the most likely cause of the connectivity issue for the new VM that cannot access the Internet or the VMs on any other subnet. A gateway is a device or software that connects two or more networks and routes traffic between them. A gateway is usually configured as the default route for a network device, which means that any traffic that is not destined for the local network will be sent to the gateway. If the gateway is configured incorrectly, the network device will not be able to communicate with other networks or the Internet. In this case, the new VM has an IP address of 172.16.31.40/24, which means that its subnet mask is 255.255.255.0 and its network ID is 172.16.31.0. However, its gateway is configured as 172.16.30.1, which belongs to a different network (172.16.30.0/24). This means that the new VM will not be able to reach its gateway or any other network through it. The administrator should change the gateway to an IP address that belongs to the same network as the new VM, such as 172.16.31.1 or 172.16.31.254.

If a whole rack of servers was inaccessible during a power outage, even though the servers did not lose power, it is likely that the switch that connects them to the network lost power. Without network connectivity, the servers would not be able to communicate with other devices or services. The administrator should investigate the switch power source and ensure it has a backup power supply or UPS.

Moving the VM to a host with a faster CPU is the best way to solve the issue of the security appliance installer saying the CPU clock speed does not meet the requirements when building a new VM for a network security appliance. Moving the VM to a host with a faster CPU can ensure that the VM meets the minimum CPU clock speed requirement for the security appliance, as it can use the physical CPU resources of the host. Moving the VM to a host with a faster CPU can also improve the performance and reliability of the security appliance, as it can reduce latency, contention, and overhead. References: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 11, section 1.6

Permissions are rules or settings that determine what actions users can perform on files or resources in a system or service. Permissions can help control and restrict access to files or resources based on various criteria, such as user identity, role, group, or ownership. Defining and configuring the proper permissions for the file-sharing service is the best step for the administrator to take next after discovering that sales group members can access the financial application due to being part of the finance group and having write access to all files in the file-sharing service. Defining and configuring the proper permissions can prevent unauthorized or accidental access or modification of files or resources by limiting or granting access based on specific criteria. References: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 14, section 2.7

Regression testing is a type of software testing that verifies that existing features or functionalities of a system or application are not affected by any changes or updates made to it. Regression testing can help assess whether all the known bugs and fixes are applied and unwanted ports and services are disabled when reviewing a new application implementation document for a cloud deployment, as it can detect any errors or defects that may have been introduced or re-introduced after applying patches, updates, or configurations to the application. References: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 19, section 4.1

Removing the published plain-text password and changing the affected IAM user’s password are the first actions that a cloud administrator should take after accidentally uploading a password for an IAM user in plain text, as they can prevent or limit any unauthorized or malicious access to the cloud resources or services using the compromised password. Removing the published plain-text password can ensure that the password is not exposed or available to anyone who may access or view the uploaded file. Changing the affected IAM user’s password can ensure that the password is updated and secured using encryption or hashing techniques. References: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 14, section 2.7

A blue-green deployment is a software deployment technique where two identical environments (X and Y) are used to switch between the old and new versions of the software. In this scenario, the X environment is patched/upgraded and tested while the Y environment is still serving the consumer workloads. Upon successful testing of the X environment, all workload is sent to this environment, and the Y environment is then upgraded before both environments start to manage the workloads. This is an example of a blue-green deployment, where one environment (blue) is active and serving the production traffic, while the other environment (green) is idle and ready to be updated. The advantage of this technique is that it allows for fast and easy rollbacks in case of any issues with the new version, as well as zero downtime for the users.

A CDN (content delivery network) is a system of distributed servers that deliver web content to users based on their geographic location, the origin of the web page, and the content delivery server1. A CDN can improve the user experience by reducing the latency, bandwidth, and load on the origin server. By offloading the images to an object storage, such as Google Cloud Storage or Amazon S3, the web application can save costs and improve performance by storing and serving the images from a CDN edge location that is closer to the user2. A CDN can also provide caching, compression, and security features for the web content3.

The best answer is A. Rightsizing.

Rightsizing is the process of restructuring a company so it can make a profit more efficiently and meet updated business objectives1. Organizations will usually rightsize their business by reducing their workforce, reorganizing upper management, cutting costs, and changing job roles2.

Rightsizing can help solve the issue of VMs constantly ballooning, while the memory usage of several other VMs is significantly lower than their resource allocation. Ballooning is a memory reclamation technique used when ESXi host runs out of memory. It involves a balloon driver that consumes unused memory within the VM’s address space and makes it available for other uses by the host machine3. However, ballooning can also degrade the performance of the VMs and cause swapping or paging4.

By rightsizing the VMs, the systems administrator can adjust the memory allocation according to the actual demand and usage of each VM. This can prevent overprovisioning or underprovisioning of memory resources and improve the efficiency and profitability of the company. Rightsizing can also help avoid redundancies, streamline workflows, and make better hiring decisions1.

The target system’s API (Application Programming Interface) functionality has been deprecated is what will most likely cause the issue of configuration management tool no longer working as expected after using it to perform maintenance tasks in a system using its API, and applying features and security updates to it. An API is a set of rules or specifications that defines how different software components or systems can communicate and interact with each other. An API functionality is a feature or function that an API provides or supports, such as methods, parameters, responses, etc. An API functionality can be deprecated when it is no longer maintained or supported by the API provider or developer, and is replaced or removed by a newer or better functionality. The target system’s API functionality has been deprecated can cause the issue by making the configuration management tool unable to use or access the API functionality that it relies on to perform maintenance tasks in the system, which may result in errors or failures.

IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) is a cloud service model that provides basic computing resources such as servers, storage, network, etc., to the customers. The customers have full control and flexibility over these resources and can install and configure any software they need on them. IaaS is suitable for applications that have a unique stack of dependencies that may not be supported by other cloud service models.

Serverless is what would be the best option to deploy a new cloud application and provision cloud services with minimal effort while reducing the tasks required for maintenance such as OS patching, VM and volume provisioning, and autoscaling configurations. Serverless is a cloud service model that provides customers with a platform to run applications or functions without having to manage or provision any underlying infrastructure or resources, such as servers, storage, network, OS, etc. Serverless can provide benefits such as:

• Minimal effort: Serverless can reduce the effort required to deploy a new cloud application and provision cloud services by automating and abstracting away all the infrastructure or resource management or provisioning tasks from customers, and allowing them to focus only on writing code or logic for their applications or functions.
• Reduced maintenance: Serverless can reduce the tasks required for maintenance by handling all the infrastructure or resource maintenance tasks for customers, such as OS patching, VM and volume provisioning, autoscaling configurations, etc., and ensuring that they are always up-to-date and optimized.

The wrong template selection is the most likely cause of the issue of newly provisioned Linux VMs running an earlier version of OS than they should be in a private IaaS environment. A template is a preconfigured image or blueprint of a VM that contains an OS, applications, settings, etc., that can be used to create new VMs quickly and consistently. A template may have different versions or updates depending on when it was created or modified. If a template is selected incorrectly or not updated properly, it may result in creating VMs with an older or different version of OS than expected.

SR-IOV (Single Root Input/Output Virtualization) is what would best satisfy the requirements of low-latency, near-native performance of a physical NIC and data protection between VMs for multiple network I/O-intensive VMs. SR-IOV is a technology that allows a physical NIC to be partitioned into multiple virtual NICs that can be assigned to different VMs. SR-IOV can provide the following benefits:

• Low-latency: SR-IOV can reduce latency by bypassing the hypervisor and allowing direct communication between the VMs and the physical NIC, without any overhead or interference.
• Near-native performance: SR-IOV can provide near-native performance by allowing the VMs to use the full capacity and functionality of the physical NIC, without any emulation or translation.
• Data protection: SR-IOV can provide data protection by isolating and securing the network traffic between the VMs and the physical NIC, without any exposure or leakage.

These are the steps that should be done to troubleshoot the issue of slow connection times for users of an enterprise application that is configured to use SSO (Single Sign-On). SSO is a feature that allows users to access multiple applications or services with one login credential, without having to authenticate separately for each application or service. SSO can improve user experience and security, but it may also introduce performance issues if not configured properly. To troubleshoot the issue, the administrator should perform a packet capture during authentication to analyze the network traffic and identify any delays or errors in the SSO process. The administrator should also validate the load-balancing configuration to ensure that the SSO requests are distributed evenly and efficiently among the available servers or instances. The administrator should also analyze the network throughput of the load balancer to check if there is any congestion or bottleneck that may affect the SSO performance.

Checking the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) is the first thing that the VDI administrator should do to optimize the performance of the VDI infrastructure for rendering tasks. GPU is a specialized hardware device that accelerates graphics processing and rendering. GPU can improve the user experience and performance of VDI applications that require intensive graphics processing, such as drafting, gaming, video editing, etc.

Configuring a firewall rule to block the traffic on the affected instance is what the administrator should perform during the containment phase of a security incident in the cloud. A security incident is an event or situation that affects or may affect the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of cloud resources or data. A security incident response is a process of managing and resolving a security incident using various phases, such as identification, containment, eradication, recovery, etc. The containment phase is where the administrator tries to isolate and prevent the spread or escalation of the security incident. Configuring a firewall rule to block the traffic on the affected instance can help to contain a security incident by cutting off any communication or interaction between the instance and other systems or networks, which may stop any malicious or unauthorized activity or access.

Hardening is the best option to help the cloud provider secure the environment and limit consumers’ activity on its IaaS platform. Hardening is a process of reducing the attack surface and vulnerabilities of a system or device by applying security configurations, patches, updates, policies, rules, etc. Hardening can prevent consumers from installing unauthorized or unsupported software on their cloud servers, such as hypervisors.

A storage live migration is a process of moving or transferring data or files from one storage system or device to another without interrupting or affecting the availability or performance of the VMs or applications that use them. Performing a storage live migration can help migrate the data from a SAN that is being decommissioned to a new array, as it can ensure that there is no downtime or disruption for the VMs or applications that rely on the data or files stored on the SAN. Performing a storage live migration can also help maintain consistency and integrity, as it can synchronize and verify the data or files between the source and destination storage systems or devices. References: CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 10, section 1.5