Cloud Computing Exam Questions 2019
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y mugambiCloud Computing Exam Questions 2019
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Powered by AIThe three hardware virtualization techniques are full virtualization, paravirtualization, and hardware-assisted virtualization. Full virtualization uses a hypervisor to create a complete abstraction of the underlying hardware. This allows unmodified guest operating systems to run as if they were on standalone hardware, but it may incur performance overheads. Paravirtualization, meanwhile, involves modifying the guest OS to interact with the hypervisor, reducing overhead by making system calls more efficient without requiring full hardware emulation. Hardware-assisted virtualization uses CPU extensions to support virtualization more directly, improving performance by reducing the hypervisor's need to emulate hardware .
The hypervisor layer is crucial in managing virtual machines (VMs) in cloud computing. It allows multiple operating systems to run concurrently on a single physical machine, optimizing resource utilization and reducing costs. The hypervisor enables isolation between different VMs, ensuring that one VM's performance or security does not impact another. Furthermore, it manages hardware resources efficiently, allocating CPU, memory, and storage to meet the dynamic needs of different applications .
The goals of memory virtualization include resource efficiency, isolation, and flexibility. Resource efficiency ensures optimal use of memory by allowing dynamic allocation and overcommitment, maximizing the utility of available physical memory. Isolation is critical to protecting virtual machines from accessing each other's data, which enhances security and stability. Flexibility allows virtual machines to adjust memory usage based on current workload demands without manual intervention. These goals are essential in cloud environments to support scalability, maintain performance standards, and ensure secure multitenant environments, which are fundamental to cloud offerings .
Cloud services might become unavailable due to several reasons. Network failures can disrupt access to cloud services, causing downtime that impacts business operations. Power outages can also lead to service interruptions and data loss if there aren't adequate backup systems in place. Server maintenance or issues can result in temporary unavailability of services, affecting user productivity and potentially leading to financial losses. Finally, software bugs or security breaches can render services inaccessible, compromising data integrity and customer trust .
Devices accessing cloud services should have several security features to ensure data protection and secure transactions. First, encryption is essential to protect data in transit and at rest; it ensures that even if data is intercepted, it cannot be read without a decryption key. Second, multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds an additional layer of security beyond just passwords, requiring users to provide two or more verification factors to gain access to cloud services. Third, firewall protection is critical as it helps to block unauthorized access to and from private networks, acting as a barrier between trusted and untrusted networks .
The five commonly used cloud computing payment models are Pay-as-you-go, Subscription-based, Tiered pricing, Reserved pricing, and Spot pricing. Pay-as-you-go allows users to pay only for the resources they consume, which is flexible but can be unpredictable; an example is AWS EC2's on-demand instances. Subscription-based pricing involves paying a regular fee for ongoing access to services, such as Adobe Creative Cloud. Tiered pricing offers discounted rates based on usage volume, encouraging larger commitments; for instance, Amazon S3 storage offers lower rates at higher usage tiers. Reserved pricing involves upfront commitments for reserved resources at a discounted rate, like AWS Reserved Instances. Spot pricing allows bidding on unused capacity for short-term use at lower costs, perfect for flexible workloads as seen in Google Cloud's Preemptible VMs .
Two SaaS maturity models are the Simple Multi-Tenancy Model and the Fine-Grained Multi-Tenancy Model. In the Simple Multi-Tenancy Model, each customer gets a separate instance of the software, which provides isolation and customization flexibility, but can be more costly and difficult to maintain. An example is Salesforce classic version for small companies. The Fine-Grained Multi-Tenancy Model involves a single instance of software serving multiple customers, with data partitioning ensuring tenant data isolation. This model is resource-efficient and scalable, as seen in Google Workspace, where multiple users share the same underlying resources without impacting each other's experience .
Application-focused cloud computing layer services, often referred to as Software as a Service (SaaS), provide end-users with software applications over the internet, eliminating the need for local installation and maintenance. Examples include office productivity suites like Microsoft 365. Infrastructure-focused services, known as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), offer virtualized computing resources over the internet, such as servers and storage, giving users flexibility to deploy and run arbitrary software, including operating systems and applications. While SaaS simplifies user experience by providing a fully managed application, IaaS offers greater control and customization for end-users to manage their own resources and settings .
In-Service Software Upgrade (ISSU) is crucial in cloud computing as it allows software updates and upgrades without taking systems offline. This continuous operation is vital for maintaining high availability and meeting Service Level Agreements (SLAs). ISSU minimizes downtime by allowing updates to be applied incrementally, reducing disruption to end-users and business processes. It also enhances system reliability by enabling timely patches for security vulnerabilities and performance improvements without the risk associated with prolonged service downtime .
Cloud governance is essential for ensuring effective management and compliance in cloud computing environments. It establishes policies and procedures to manage and control cloud resources efficiently. First, it ensures security compliance by adhering to regulatory standards. Second, it mitigates risks by setting usage policies that prevent unauthorized access or data breaches. Third, it enhances cost management by monitoring resources and optimizing usage to prevent overspending. Fourth, governance facilitates resource allocation and performance management, ensuring resources are appropriately distributed according to demand. Lastly, it promotes accountability by defining roles and responsibilities, making it easier to audit and report on resource usage and compliance .