Free Practice Questions for CompTIA CLO-002 Exam

Containerization is a software deployment process that bundles an application’s code with all the files and libraries it needs to run on any infrastructure. Containerization does not include an underlying operating system that would require patching and management, as containers share the host operating system kernel and run in isolated user spaces. Containerization allows applications to run consistently and portably on any platform or cloud, regardless of the differences in operating systems, hardware, or configurations. Containerization also enables faster and easier deployment, scalability, and fault tolerance of applications. Therefore, containerization would best meet the need of a vendor who wants to distribute a cloud management application in a format that can be used on both public and private clouds.

The other options are not relevant to the question. Federation is a process of integrating multiple cloud services or providers to create a unified cloud environment. Collaboration is a process of working together on a shared project or goal using cloud-based tools and platforms. Microservices are a software architecture style that breaks down a complex application into smaller, independent, and loosely coupled services that communicate through APIs. Microservices can be implemented using containers, but they are not a software deployment format. Therefore, the correct answer is A. Containerization.

 Availability zones are logical data centers within a cloud region that are isolated and independent from each other. Availability zones have their own power, cooling, and networking infrastructure, and are connected by low-latency networks. Availability zones help to ensure high availability and fault tolerance for cloud applications by allowing customers to deploy their resources across multiple zones within a region. If one availability zone experiences an outage or maintenance, the other zones can continue to operate and serve the application12

To ensure the CSP does not bring both servers down for maintenance at the same time, the cloud administrator must configure the application to use availability zones. The administrator can deploy the two database servers in different availability zones within the same region, and enable replication and synchronization between them. This way, the application can access either server in case one of them is unavailable due to maintenance or failure. The administrator can also use load balancers and health checks to distribute the traffic and monitor the status of the servers across the availability zones34

Backups are not the best option to ensure the CSP does not bring both servers down for maintenance at the same time, because backups are copies of data that are stored in another location for recovery purposes. Backups can help to restore the data in case of data loss or corruption, but they do not provide high availability or fault tolerance for the application. Backups are usually performed periodically or on-demand, rather than continuously. Backups also require additional storage space and bandwidth, and may incur additional costs.

Autoscaling is not the best option to ensure the CSP does not bring both servers down for maintenance at the same time, because autoscaling is a feature that allows customers to scale their cloud resources up or down automatically, based on predefined conditions such as traffic or utilization levels. Autoscaling can help to optimize the performance and costs of the application, but it does not guarantee high availability or fault tolerance for the application. Autoscaling maynot be able to scale the resources fast enough to handle sudden spikes or drops in demand, and it may also introduce additional complexity and overhead for managing the resources.

Replication is not the best option to ensure the CSP does not bring both servers down for maintenance at the same time, because replication is a process of copying and synchronizing data across multiple locations or devices. Replication can help to improve the availability and consistency of the data, but it does not prevent the CSP from bringing both servers down for maintenance at the same time. Replication also depends on the availability and connectivity of the locations or devices where the data is replicated, and it may also increase the network traffic and storage requirements.

A company that would like to improve its current disaster recovery (DR) plan with an emphasis on high availability should focus on the metrics of recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO). RTO is the maximum duration of time that a system or service can be unavailable after a disaster or disruption before the business suffers unacceptable consequences. RPO is the maximum amount of data loss that a system or service can tolerate in a disaster or disruption before the business suffers unacceptable consequences. Both RTO and RPO measure the impact of downtime on the business and help determine the appropriate recovery strategies and solutions. High availability requires low RTO and RPO values, which means that the system or service should be restored quickly and with minimal data loss in case of a disaster or disruption. References: CompTIA Cloud Essentials+ CLO-002 Study Guide, Chapter 6: Cloud Operations Principles, Section 6.2: Disaster Recovery Concepts, Page 1791 and Service Availability: Calculations and Metrics, Five 9s, and Best Practices – BMC Software | Blogs

 A Chief Information Officer (CIO) who is starting a cloud migration plan for the next three years of growth and requires an understanding of IT initiatives should consider the current and future business requirements as a key factor in the assessment. Current and future business requirements are the needs and expectations of the organization and its stakeholders regarding the IT systems and services that support the business goals and processes. These requirements may include functional, non-functional, technical, operational, financial, regulatory, and strategic aspects of the IT systems and services. Understanding the current and future business requirements can help the CIO to:

Align the cloud migration plan with the business vision, mission, and objectives

Identify the benefits and challenges of migrating to the cloud

Evaluate the feasibility and suitability of different cloud service models and deployment options

Determine the scope, priority, and timeline of the cloud migration projects

Estimate the costs and risks involved in the cloud migration

Define the success criteria and key performance indicators for the cloud migration

Communicate and collaborate with the business stakeholders and the cloud providers

A technical gap analysis, a cloud architecture diagram review, and a feasibility study are also important steps in the cloud migration assessment, but they are not as comprehensive as the current and future business requirements. A technical gap analysis is a process of comparing the current state of the IT systems and services with the desired state in the cloud, and identifying the gaps or differences between them. A technical gap analysis can help the CIO to understand the compatibility, performance, and integration issues that may arise during the cloud migration, and to plan the necessary changes or improvements to address them. A cloud architecture diagram review is a process of examining the design and structure of the cloud environment, and how the IT systems and services will be deployed, configured, and managed in the cloud. A cloud architecture diagram review can help the CIO to ensure that the cloud environment meets the technical, functional, and non-functional requirements of the IT systems and services, and that it follows the best practices and standards of the cloud provider. A feasibility study is a process of evaluating the technical, financial, operational, and organizational aspects of moving from on-premises IT systems and services to cloud-based alternatives. A feasibility study can help theCIO to determine the viability and desirability of the cloud migration, and to weigh the pros and cons of different cloud migration approaches.

 A proprietary SaaS solution is one that uses a specific vendor’s software and platform, which may not be compatible with other vendors’ solutions or industry standards. This can result in vendor lock-in, which means that the organization becomes dependent on the vendor and cannot easily switch to another provider or solution without significant costs or risks. Vendor lock-in can also limit the organization’s ability to negotiate better terms or prices with the vendor. Integration issues can arise when the proprietary SaaS solution does not support open standards, which are widely accepted and interoperable protocols or formats that enable different systems or applications to communicate and exchange data. Open standards can facilitate integration with other cloud or on-premise solutions, as well as enhance portability and scalability of the cloud services. If the SaaS solution does not adopt open standards, the organization may face challenges or limitations in integrating the solution with its existing or future IT environment, which can affect the functionality, performance, and security of the cloud services. References: CompTIA Cloud Essentials+ Certification Study Guide, Second Edition (Exam CLO-002), Chapter 2: Cloud Concepts, Section 2.3: Cloud Service Models, p. 62-63.

Avoidance is a risk response strategy that involves eliminating the threat or uncertainty associated with a risk by removing the cause or the source of the risk. Avoidance can help to prevent the occurrence or the impact of a negative risk, but it may also result in the loss of potential opportunities or benefits. Avoidance is usually applied when the risk is too high or too costly to mitigate, transfer, or accept12

The business analyst is using the avoidance strategy by decommissioning the server that has a vulnerability. By doing so, the analyst is eliminating the possibility of the vulnerability being exploited or causing harm to the system or the data. However, the analyst is also losing the functionality or the value that the server provides, and may need to find an alternative solution or resource.

Mitigation is not the correct answer, because mitigation is a risk response strategy that involves reducing the probability or the impact of a negative risk by implementing actions or controls that can minimize or counteract the risk. Mitigation can help to lower the exposure or the severity of a risk, but it does not eliminate the risk completely. Mitigation is usually applied when the risk is moderate or manageable, and the cost of mitigation is justified by the potential benefit12

Transference is not the correct answer, because transference is a risk response strategy that involves shifting the responsibility or the impact of a negative risk to a third party, such as a vendor, a partner, or an insurer. Transference can help to share or distribute the risk, but it does not reduce or remove the risk. Transference is usually applied when the risk is beyond the control or the expertise of the organization, and the cost of transference is acceptable or affordable12

Acceptance is not the correct answer, because acceptance is a risk response strategy that involves acknowledging the existence or the possibility of a negative risk, and being prepared to deal with the consequences if the risk occurs. Acceptance can be passive, which means no action is taken to address the risk, or active, which means a contingency plan or a reserve is established to handle the risk. Acceptance is usually applied when the risk is low or inevitable, and the cost of avoidance, mitigation, or transference is higher than the cost of acceptance12

 Penetration testing, also known as ethical hacking, is a security assessment methodology that involves simulating a cyberattack on a cloud-based system or service to identify and exploit vulnerabilities and weaknesses. Penetration testing can help to evaluate the security posture of a cloud environment and provide recommendations for improvement12

Penetration testing in a cloud environment requires a defined scope and formal authorization from the cloud service provider (CSP), because it can have significant impacts on the cloud infrastructure, applications, and data. Penetration testing can potentially cause damage, disruption, or breach of the cloud resources, as well as violate the terms of service or the service level agreements of the CSP. Therefore, before conducting penetration testing in a cloud environment, the customer must obtain the consent and approval of the CSP, and follow the guidelines and policies of the CSP regarding the scope, duration, frequency, and methods of the testing3

Orchestration, sandboxing, and vulnerability scanning are not activities that require a defined scope and formal authorization from the CSP, because they are less intrusive and disruptive than penetration testing. Orchestration is the process of automating and coordinating the deployment and management of cloud resources using tools and scripts. Sandboxing is the process of creating and isolating a testing environment within the cloud to experiment with new features or applications without affecting the production environment. Vulnerability scanning is the process of detecting and reporting the known vulnerabilities and misconfigurations in the cloud resources using automated tools. These activities can help to improve the efficiency, flexibility, and security of the cloud environment, but they do not involve actively exploiting or compromising the cloud resources. Therefore, they do not require the same level of permission and oversight from the CSP as penetration testing.

A vulnerability scan is a process of identifying and reporting potential security weaknesses in a system or network. A vulnerability scan can help detect misconfigurations, outdated software, missing patches, and other issues that could compromise the security of the cloud environment. A vulnerability scan is an appropriate task for the cloud security team to perform after migrating the infrastructure to the cloud, as it can help identify and remediate any security gaps that may have occurred during the migration process. A vulnerability scan can also help the cloud security team comply with the security standards and regulations that apply to the cloud service provider and the cloud customer.

A risk register is a document that lists the identified risks, their likelihood, impact, and mitigation strategies for a project or organization. A risk register is not a post-migration task, but rather a pre-migration task that should be created and updated throughout the cloud migration process. A risk register can help the cloud security team assess and manage the risks associated with the cloud migration, and plan for contingencies and backups in case of any unforeseen events.

A threat assessment is a process of identifying and analyzing the potential threats that could harm a system or network. A threat assessment can help the cloud security team determine the sources, motives, capabilities, and methods of the attackers, and prioritize the most critical and likely threats. A threat assessment is not a post-migration task, but rather a continuous task that should be performed regularly to monitor and respond to the evolving threat landscape. A threat assessment can help the cloud security team enhance the security posture and resilience of the cloud environment, and implement appropriate countermeasures and controls.

An application scan is a process of testing and verifying the functionality and security of an application. An application scan can help detect and report any errors, bugs, vulnerabilities, or performance issues in an application. An application scan is not a post-migration task, but rather a development and deployment task that should be performed before and after launching an application in the cloud. An application scan can help the cloud security team ensure the quality and reliability of the application, and fix any issues that could affect the user experience or security of the application. References: CompTIA Cloud Essentials+ CLO-002 Study Guide, Chapter 4: Cloud Security Principles and Practices, pages 153-154.

Resource tagging is a method of assigning metadata to cloud resources, such as virtual machines, storage volumes, databases, or networks. Resource tags are key-value pairs that can be used for various purposes, such as identifying, organizing, grouping, filtering, or reporting on cloud resources. Resource tagging can also be used for billing recognition, which means tracking and allocating the costs of cloud resources to different departments, projects, or customers. By applying resource tags to cloud resources, department members can provision their own cloud resources and have their usage and costs automatically attributed to their department. Resource tags can also help department managers monitor and optimize their cloud spending, and enforce policies and budgets for their cloud resources. Sandboxing, BYOL, and reserved instances are not related to billing recognition. Sandboxing is a technique of creating isolated environments for testing or experimenting with cloud resources, without affecting the production environment. BYOL stands for bring your own license, which means using an existing software license for a cloud service, instead of purchasing a new license from the cloud provider. Reserved instances are a type of cloud pricing model that offers discounted rates for committing to a certain amount of cloud resources for a specific period of time. References: CompTIA Cloud Essentials+ CLO-002 Study Guide, Chapter 3: Cloud Business Principles, Section 3.4: Cloud Billing and Cost Management, Page 891 and Resource tagging best practices | Google Cloud

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is the best way to secure a web session to a hosted e-commerce website. SSL is a protocol that encrypts the data exchanged between a web browser and a web server, ensuring that no one can intercept, modify, or steal the information. SSL also provides authentication, which verifies the identity of the web server and the web browser, preventing impersonation or spoofing attacks. SSL is essential for e-commerce websites, as they handle sensitive data, such as credit card numbers, personal information, and login credentials, that need to be protected from hackers and cybercriminals. SSL also helps to build trust and confidence among customers, as they can see that the website is secure and legitimate. SSL can be recognized by the presence of a padlock icon and the HTTPS prefix in the web address. To enable SSL, e-commerce websites need to obtain and install an SSL certificate from a trusted certificate authority (CA), which is a third-party organization that issues and validates SSL certificates. SSL certificates can vary in price, validity, and level of security, depending on the type and provider of the certificate. Some web hosts and e-commerce platforms may offer free or discounted SSL certificates as part of their services. References: CompTIA Cloud Essentials+ CLO-002 Study Guide, Chapter 4: Cloud Security, Section 4.2: Cloud Security Concepts, Page 154. How to Secure Your E-Commerce Website: 6 Basic Steps1 eCommerce Security: A Complete Guide to Protect Your Store2