☁️ CompTIA A+ CORE 1 | SERIES 220-1201: Cloud & Virtualization

This dedicated track is focused on mastering Virtualization and Cloud Computing concepts. You will learn about key virtualization concepts and summarize essential cloud computing concepts, including major service models. This pack also includes critical flashcards for troubleshooting common issues related to both client-side virtualization and cloud connectivity.

Which cloud pricing model can save money by creating objects such as virtual machines using “left-over” resources?

Spot instances (or preemptible instances). This model uses "left-over" unused cloud capacity to create objects like VMs at a deep discount (up to 90%). The main risk is that these instances can be interrupted (preempted) with little notice if the cloud provider needs the capacity back.

What are the primary benefits of moving to the cloud?

Key benefits include accessibility (access data/apps from anywhere), cost-efficiency (pay-as-you-go model reduces upfront investment), and scalability (quickly adjust resources up or down to meet demand). This provides flexibility and supports business agility.

What are the core elements of elasticity in the cloud?

Resource pooling and autoscaling. Resource pooling allows cloud providers to dynamically share computing resources among many users. Autoscaling automatically adds (scales up) or removes (scales down) resources based on current demand, optimizing costs and performance without manual intervention.

Which strategy for managing measured services can help to determine costs on a per-project basis?

Tagging and cost attribution. This strategy involves assigning metadata (tags) to cloud resources (like VMs or storage). These tags link resource costs to specific projects, departments, or teams. This allows for detailed cost tracking, analysis, and accountability on a per-project basis.

Which aspect of creating a new virtual machine in Microsoft Azure can have the most significant effect on the price?

The Size of the virtual machine (which includes the vCPUs, RAM, and other resources) has the most significant effect on price. Larger VMs with higher CPU/memory cost more. Other factors like OS, region, or security are relevant but not as impactful on pricing as the VM size.

What are the core elements of availability in the cloud?

Monitoring and failover, redundancy, and load balancing. Monitoring detects issues quickly. Redundancy provides backup components to take over if a primary one fails. Load balancing distributes traffic across multiple resources to prevent any single point of failure and ensure services remain accessible.

A Platform as a Service cloud implementation would most likely be found in which type of organization?

A Platform as a Service (PaaS) cloud model is common in software development. It provides a complete cloud platform with hardware, software, and infrastructure, enabling developers to build, test, and deploy apps quickly without managing underlying systems.

Similar or related organizations sharing the cost of a cloud implementation describes which cloud model?

The cloud model that describes similar or related organizations sharing the cost of a cloud implementation is called community cloud. It’s shared by organizations with common concerns such as security, compliance, or mission. They collaborate to manage costs, resources, and security protocols within a shared infrastructure that meets their specific needs.

When configuring a new virtual network in Microsoft Azure, what is the default size of the address space?

The default size of the address space when creating a new virtual network in Microsoft Azure is /16. This means the virtual network is assigned an IP range like 10.0.0.0/16, allowing for 65,536 IP addresses within the network. This provides sufficient IP space for most deployments and can be later modified if needed.

A “sync storm” would most likely result from which situation?

A “sync storm” most likely occurs due to too many changes to a file causing repeated synchronization attempts. This flood of sync requests can overwhelm systems and create performance issues. It happens when many conflicting updates or frequent edits trigger continuous syncing, overwhelming cloud sync services.

Which types of applications and services would you most likely find in a Software as a Service environment?

In a Software as a Service (SaaS) environment, common applications include collaboration and communication tools, business productivity apps, and customer relationship management (CRM) services. These are cloud-hosted and accessible online without local installation.

Which objects or resources are the focus of Infrastructure as a Service?

The objects or resources that are the focus of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) are virtual networks, virtual machines, and storage. IaaS provides these core components to users, enabling them to build and manage their own infrastructure in the cloud, offering flexibility and scalability.

Which access tier is set by default when creating a new storage account in Microsoft Azure?

The default access tier set when creating a new storage account in Microsoft Azure is the Hot tier. This tier is designed for frequently accessed data, providing the highest availability and performance. You can change this setting at creation or later, but Hot is the default for new general-purpose v2 storage accounts.

Which attributes of multitenancy are typically regarded as challenges rather than advantages?

The attributes of multitenancy typically regarded as challenges rather than advantages are data security and performance. Data security is a concern because multiple tenants share the same infrastructure, increasing risks of data leaks or unauthorized access. Performance can suffer due to resource contention when tenants compete for shared computing resources.