CLO-002 CompTIA Cloud Essentials+ Free Practice Exam Questions (2025 Updated)

High-speed storage, such as solid-state drives (SSDs), is more expensive and faster than slower storage, such as hard disk drives (HDDs). High-speed storage is suitable for live databases that require low latency and high performance, but not for backups that are rarely accessed and do not need fast retrieval. Therefore, the analyst should recommend moving the backups to slower storage, which can reduce the cost and improve the efficiency of the cloud resources expenditures. Moving the backups to slower storage can also free up more space for the live database on the high-speed storage1.

Configuring the live database for redundant clustering, configuring geo-redundancy for backups, or moving the backups to another availability zone are not recommended for improved cost and efficiency, as they would increase the complexity and expense of the cloud resources. Redundant clustering and geo-redundancy are techniques for enhancing the availability and reliability of the data, but they also require more storage and network resources2. Moving the backups to another availability zone may improve the fault tolerance and latency of the backups, but it may also incur additional fees for data transfer and storage3. References: Choose between SSD and HDD storage - Google Cloud; Cloud Computing vs. Cloud Storage | Pure Storage; Cloud Storage vs. Local Storage | Enterprise Storage Forum.

Private key encryption, also known as symmetric key encryption, is a method of encrypting data using a single secret key that is shared by both the sender and the receiver of the message1. Private key encryption ensures that only the authorized parties who have the same key can access the encrypted data, while preventing unauthorized parties from reading or modifying it. Therefore, private key encryption is mainly used to protect the confidentiality of data, which is the security concern that deals with preventing unauthorized disclosure of information2.

Confidentiality is one of the three main goals of information security, along with integrity and availability. Integrity refers to the security concern that deals with preventing unauthorized modification or corruption of information. Availability refers to the security concern that deals with ensuring timely and reliable access to information2. Authorization, on the other hand, is not a security concern, but a security mechanism that deals with granting or denying access rights to information based on predefined policies and rules3.

A cloud developer chooses to use private key encryption for all traffic in a new application. This best describes the security concern of confidentiality, as the developer wants to ensure that only the intended recipients can access the encrypted data, while keeping it secret from anyone else. References: 1: https://www.comptia.org/training/books/cloud-essentials-clo-002-study-guide, Chapter 8, page 274-275 2: https://www.comptia.org/training/books/cloud-essentials-clo-002-study-guide, Chapter 8, page 263-264 3: https://www.comptia.org/training/books/cloud-essentials-clo-002-study-guide, Chapter 8, page 268-269

 Replication is the process of copying data from one location to another, usually in a cloud environment, to ensure high availability, accessibility, and disaster recovery. Replication helps minimize downtime and data loss by creating multiple copies of the same data that can be synchronized and updated in real time. Replication is especially useful for large databases thatneed to be hosted in the cloud with little to no interruption or degradation of service. Replication can also improve performance and scalability by distributing the workload across multiple servers or regions. References: Cloud Essentials+ CLO-002 Study Guide, Chapter 3: Business Principles of Cloud Environments, Section 3.4: Explain the importance of high availability, scalability, and elasticity concepts, p. 83. What Is Cloud Data Replication & Why Does It Matter? - WEKACloud Replication: A Comprehensive Guide - Hevo DataReplication in Cloud Computing - The Customize WindowsThe role of replication in the migration process - Cloud Adoption Framework

Learn more:

1. weka.io2. hevodata.com3. thecustomizewindows.com4. learn.microsoft.com+1 more

A service level agreement (SLA) is a contract that defines the quality and performance metrics that are agreeable to both parties. An SLA specifies the expectations and responsibilities of the service provider and the customer in terms of service availability, reliability, security, and responsiveness. An SLA also defines the penalties or remedies for non-compliance with the agreed-upon metrics. An SLA is a key component of cloud computing contracts, as it ensures that the cloud service provider delivers the service according to the customer’s requirements and expectations12.

 Feasibility studies are the best option to provide the details needed for the company’s decision regarding the cloud migration. Feasibility studies are comprehensive assessments that evaluate the technical, financial, operational, and organizational aspects of moving an application or workload from one environment to another. Feasibility studies can help determine the suitability, viability, and benefits of migrating an application or workload to the cloud, as well as the challenges, risks, and costs involved. Feasibility studies can also help identify the best cloud solution and migration method for the application or workload, based on its requirements, dependencies, and characteristics. In the context of the manufacturing company, a feasibility study can help analyze the ERP system and its data sources, and provide information on how to migrate it to the cloud without compromising its functionality, performance, security, or compliance. A feasibility study can also help compare the cloud migration options with the current on-premises solution, and estimate the return on investment and the total cost of ownership of the cloud migration. Therefore, feasibility studies can provide the details needed for the company’s decision regarding the cloud migration. Standard operating procedures, statement of work, and benchmarks are not the best options to provide the details needed for the company’s decision regarding the cloud migration, as they have different purposes and scopes. Standard operating procedures are documents that describe the steps and tasks involved in performing a specific process or activity, such as installing, configuring, or troubleshooting an application or workload. Standard operating procedures can help ensure consistency, quality, andefficiency in the execution of a process or activity, but they do not provide information on the feasibility or suitability of migrating an application or workload to the cloud. Statement of work is a document that defines the scope, objectives, deliverables, and expectations of a project or contract, such as a cloud migration project or contract. Statement of work can help establish the roles, responsibilities, and expectations of the parties involved in a project or contract, but it does not provide information on the feasibility or viability of migrating an application or workload to the cloud. Benchmarks are tests or measurements that evaluate the performance, quality, or reliability of an application or workload, such as the speed, throughput, or availability of an application or workload. Benchmarks can help compare the performance, quality, or reliability of an application or workload across different environments, such as on-premises or cloud, but they do not provide information on the feasibility or benefits of migrating an application or workload to the cloud. References: CompTIA Cloud Essentials+ CLO-002 Study Guide, Chapter 7: Cloud Migration, Section 7.1: Cloud Migration Concepts, Page 2031 and Navigating Success: The Crucial Role of Feasibility Studies in SAP Cloud Migration | SAP Blogs

A content delivery network (CDN) is a network of servers that deliver web content to users based on their geographic location. A CDN can improve the performance, reliability, and security of a web application by caching content closer to the users and reducing the load on the origin server. One of the security advantages of using a CDN is that it can provide resiliency against distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, which are attempts to overwhelm a web server with a large number of requests from multiple sources. A CDN can mitigate DDoS attacks by:

Distributing the traffic across multiple servers and locations, making it harder for attackers to target a single point of failure

Filtering out malicious requests before they reach the origin server, using techniques such as rate limiting, IP blocking, and challenge-response mechanisms

Absorbing the attack traffic with greater bandwidth and resources than the origin server, reducing the impact on the web application’s availability and performance References: CompTIA Cloud Essentials+ CLO-002 Study Guide, Chapter 4: Security in the Cloud, page 152; Why use a CDN? | CDN benefits | Cloudflare; What Is DNS Security? How Does It Work? - Cisco Umbrella; What is DNS Security? - Cisco Umbrella; What Is DNS Security? DNS vs DNS Security vs DNSSEC | Fortinet

 Cold storage is a type of cloud storage that is designed for data that does not need to be accessible in a timely manner, such as backup, archive, or historical data. Cold storage offers the lowest cost per gigabyte of storage, but also the highest cost and latency for data retrieval. Cold storage is suitable for data that is rarely accessed, has low performance requirements, and can tolerate delays of hours or days. Cold storage can help a company save on cloud storage costs by reducing the use of more expensive storage tiers, such as hot, warm, or cool storage. Cold storage can also provide high durability, security, and scalability for long-term data retention.

Cold storage is different from other storage types, such as block, object, or tape. Block storage is a type of cloud storage that stores data in fixed-sized blocks that are attached to a virtual machine as a disk volume. Block storage provides high performance and low latency for data that needs frequent and random access, such as databases, operating systems, or applications. Object storage is a type of cloud storage that stores data as objects that consist of data, metadata, and a unique identifier. Object storage provides high scalability and durability for data that needs simple and direct access, such as files, images, videos, or documents. Tape storage is a type of physical storage that stores data on magnetic tapes that are stored in tape libraries or vaults. Tape storage provides low cost and high capacity for data that needs offline or long-term backup, but also has high retrieval time and risk of data loss or degradation. References: What Is Cold Data Storage? Storing Cold Data in the Cloud, Amazon S3 Glacier Storage Classes | AWS, The Complete Guide to Cold Data Storage - NetApp, Hot Storage vs Cold Storage in 2023: Instant Access vs Archiving, How cold storage is redefining the new data era

 An SLA (service level agreement) is a contract between a cloud service provider and a cloud customer that defines the expected level of service, performance, availability, and reliability of the cloud service. An SLA also specifies the contractually allowed downtime for a cloud-hosted application, which is the maximum amount of time that the application can be unavailable or inaccessible without violating the SLA. The contractually allowed downtime is usually expressed as a percentage of uptime, such as 99.9% or 99.99%, which corresponds to a certain number of hours or minutes per year, month, week, or day. For example, an SLA with 99.9% uptime means that the cloud service can be down for up to 8.76 hours per year, or 43.8 minutes per month, or 10.1 minutes per week, or 1.44 minutes per day. If the cloud service provider fails to meet the SLA, the cloud customer may be entitled to compensation or other remedies, such as credits, refunds, or termination of the contract. References: CompTIA Cloud Essentials+ CLO-002Certification Study Guide, page 27-28; CompTIA Cloud Essentials+ Certification Training, CertMaster Learn for Cloud Essentials+, Module 2: Business Principles of Cloud Environments, Lesson 2.4: Cloud Service Agreements, Topic 2.4.2: Service Level Agreements

 Elasticity is the cloud computing characteristic that allows the cloud service to scale up or down the resources dynamically according to the demand. Elasticity can help the organization address the issue of performance degradation from oversubscription of memory in the virtual environment and exhausted physical RAM by automatically allocating more memory resources to the servers when needed and releasing them when not needed. This way, the organization can avoid the risk of running out of memory and ensure optimal performance of the servers. References: CompTIA Cloud Essentials+ CLO-002 Certification Study Guide, Chapter 1: Cloud Computing Concepts, Section 1.2: Cloud Computing Characteristics, Page 17

Resource tagging is a method of assigning metadata to cloud resources, such as instances, volumes, buckets, databases, etc. Resource tagging can help identify, organize, and manage cloud resources based on various criteria, such as name, purpose, owner, environment, or cost center1. Resource tagging can also help track and report the costs of cloud resources, as the cloud service provider can generate billing and cost management reports based on the tags applied to the resources2. Resource tagging is the best option for the business analysis team to report on the costs of the specific cloud application, as it would enable them to separate and filter the costs by the application tag.

Right-sizing is a technique of adjusting the size and type of cloud resources to match the actual needs and usage patterns of an application3. Right-sizing can help optimize the performance and cost of cloud resources, but it does not directly help report on the costs of the specific cloud application, as it does not provide a way to separate and filter the costs by the application.

Content management is a process of creating, storing, organizing, and delivering digital content, such as documents, images, videos, etc. Content management can help manage the lifecycle and accessibility of digital content, but it does not directly help report on the costs of the specific cloud application, as it does not provide a way to separate and filter the costs by the application.

Optimization is a process of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of cloud resources, such as by reducing waste, increasing performance, or enhancing security4. Optimization can help improve the quality and value of cloud resources, but it does not directly help report on the costs of the specific cloud application, as it does not provide a way to separate and filter the costs by the application. References: CompTIA Cloud Essentials+ CLO-002 Study Guide, Chapter 5: Cloud Resource Management, pages 187-188.

Sandboxing is a testing technique that provides the best isolation for security threats. Sandboxing is a technique that creates a virtual environment that mimics the real system or application, but isolates it from the rest of the network. Sandboxing allows testers to run potentially malicious code or inputs without affecting the actual system or application, or exposing it to external attacks. Sandboxing can help testers to identify and analyze security threats, such as malware, ransomware, or zero-day exploits, without risking the integrity or availability of the real system or application. Sandboxing can also help testers to evaluate the effectiveness of security controls, such as antivirus, firewall, or encryption, in preventing or mitigating security threats. References: CompTIA Cloud Essentials+ CLO-002 Study Guide, Chapter 3: Cloud Service Operations, Section 3.5: Testing and Development in the Cloud, Page 125. What is Sandboxing? Definition, Types, Benefits, and Best Practices - Spiceworks1

A gap analysis is the best option for helping the company understand the extra effort required to meet the customer requirements. A gap analysis is a step-by-step process for examining the current state of a system or process and comparing it with the desired future state, and then identifying the gaps or differences between them1. A gap analysis can help to determine the scope, feasibility, and priority of the changes or improvements needed to bridge the gap and achieve the desired outcomes2. A gap analysis can also help to estimate the resources, time, and cost involved in implementing the changes or improvements3.

A gap analysis is different from the other options listed in the question, which are not directly related to understanding the extra effort required to meet the customer requirements. A statement of work is a document that describes the scope, objectives, deliverables, and terms and conditions of a project or contract4. A statement of work can help to define the expectations and responsibilities of the parties involved in the project or contract, but it does not provide a detailed analysis of the current and future states of the system or process. A baseline is a reference point or standard that is used to measure the performance or progress of a project or process. A baseline can help to track the changes or deviations from the original plan or goal, but it does not provide a comprehensive comparison of the current and future states of the system or process. A benchmark is a point of reference or criterion that is used to evaluate the quality or performance of a system or process against a best practice or industry standard. A benchmark can help to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the system or process, but it does not provide a specific assessment of the gaps or differences between the current and future states of the system or process.

Rip and replace is a cloud migration method that involves discarding the existing legacy system and building a new one from scratch on the cloud platform. This method allows the organization to take full advantage of the cloud computing model, such as scalability, elasticity, performance, and cost-efficiency. Rip and replace also enables the organization to leverage the cloud-native features and services, such as serverless computing, microservices, and containers. However, rip and replace is also the most complex and risky migration method, as it requires a complete redesign and redevelopment of the system, which can be time-consuming, expensive, and prone to errors. Therefore, rip and replace is only suitable for systems that are outdated, incompatible, or unsuitable for the cloud environment, and that have a clear business case and return on investment for the migration. References: CompTIA Cloud Essentials+ CLO-002 Study Guide, Chapter 5: Cloud Migration, page 1971

Pay-as-you-go is a pricing model in which customers pay only for the resources they consume, such as compute, storage, network, or software services4. Pay-as-you-go helps transform from a typical capital expenditure model to an operating expenditure model by eliminating the upfrontcosts of purchasing and maintaining physical infrastructure and software licenses5. Pay-as-you-go also provides flexibility and scalability to adjust the resource consumption according to the changing business needs6.

Right-sizing compute resource instances is the process of matching instance types and sizes to workload performance and capacity requirements at the lowest possible cost. It’s also the process of identifying opportunities to eliminate or downsize instances without compromising capacity or other requirements, which results in lower costs and higher efficiency1. Right-sizing is a key mechanism for optimizing cloud costs, but it is often ignored or delayed by organizations when they first move to the cloud. They lift and shift their environments and expect to right-size later. Speed and performance are often prioritized over cost, which results in oversized instances and a lot of wasted spend on unused resources2.

Right-sizing compute resource instances is the best action that the analyst should consider to lower costs and improve efficiency, as it can help reduce the amount of resources and money spent on instances that operate at a fraction of the full processing capacity. Right-sizing can also improve the performance and reliability of the instances by ensuring that they have enough resources to meet the workload demands. Right-sizing is an ongoing process that requires continuous monitoring and analysis of the instance usage and performance metrics, as well as the use of tools and frameworks that can simplify and automate the right-sizing decisions1.

Consolidating into fewer instances, using spot instances, or negotiating better prices on the company’s reserved instances are not the best actions that the analyst should consider to lower costs and improve efficiency, as they have some limitations and trade-offs compared to right-sizing. Consolidating into fewer instances can reduce the number of instances, but it does not necessarily optimize the type and size of the instances. Consolidating can also introduce performance and availability issues, such as increased latency, reduced redundancy, or single points of failure3. Using spot instances can reduce the cost of instances, but it also introduces the risk of interruption and termination, as spot instances are subject to fluctuating prices and availability based on the supply and demand of the cloud provider4. Negotiating better prices on the company’s reserved instances can reduce the cost of instances, but it also requires a long-term commitment and upfront payment, which reduces the flexibility and scalability of the cloud environment5. References: Right Sizing - Cloud Computing Services; The 6-Step Guide To Rightsizing Your Instances - CloudZero; Consolidating Cloud Services: How to Do It Right | CloudHealth by VMware; Spot Instances - Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud; Reserved Instances - Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud.

Availability is the security concern that is best addressed by moving systems to the cloud. Availability refers to the ability of a system or service to be accessible and functional when needed by authorized users. Availability is one of the key benefits of cloud computing, as it provides high reliability, scalability, and performance for the cloud systems and services. Cloud providers use various techniques and technologies to ensure availability, such as:

Redundancy: Cloud providers replicate the data and resources across multiple locations, such as regions, zones, or data centers, to prevent single points of failure and provide backup and failover capabilities in case of disasters or disruptions.

Load balancing: Cloud providers distribute the workload and traffic among multiple servers or instances to optimize the resource utilization and performance of the cloud systems and services.

Auto-scaling: Cloud providers automatically adjust the amount of resources allocated to the cloud systems and services based on the demand or usage, to prevent overloading or underutilizing the resources and ensure consistent availability.

Monitoring and recovery: Cloud providers continuously monitor the health and status of the cloud systems and services, and provide alerts and notifications in case of any issues or incidents. Cloud providers also provide tools and methods to recover the cloud systems and services from failures or errors, such as snapshots, backups, or restore points.

Availability is different from other security concerns, such as authentication, confidentiality, or integrity. Authentication is the process of verifying the identity and credentials of a user or system before granting access to the cloud systems and services. Confidentiality is the process of protecting the data and information from unauthorized access or disclosure, such as by using encryption, access control, or data masking. Integrity is the process of ensuring the data and information are accurate, complete, and consistent, and have not been modified or corrupted by unauthorized or malicious parties, such as by using hashing, digital signatures, or checksums. References: Cloud Computing Availability - CompTIA Cloud Essentials+ (CLO-002) Cert Guide, Cloud Security – Amazon Web Services (AWS), Azure infrastructure availability - Azure security | Microsoft Learn, What is Cloud Security? Cloud Security Defined | IBM

A baseline is a snapshot of the current state of a system or an environment that serves as a reference point for future comparisons. A baseline can capture various aspects of a system, such as performance, cost, configuration, and resource utilization. By generating a baseline while the application is running on-premises, the company can better predict the cloud budget for the project by estimating the cloud resources and services that would match or exceed the baseline values. A baseline can also help the company to monitor and optimize the cloud deployment and identify any anomalies or deviations from the expected behavior. References: CompTIA Cloud Essentials+ CLO-002 Study Guide, Chapter 5: Cloud Migration, page 1971; Addressing Cloud Security with Infrastructure Baselines - Fugue2

Penetration testing is a simulated attack to assess the security of an organization’s cloud-based applications and infrastructure. It is an effective way to proactively identify potential vulnerabilities, risks, and flaws and provide an actionable remediation plan to plug loopholes before hackers exploit them1. Penetration testing is also known as ethical hacking, and it involves evaluating the security of an organization’s IT systems, networks, applications, and devices by using hacker tools and techniques2. Penetration testing can be applied to both on-premises and cloud-based environments, making it a more general and broader term2. Cloud penetration testing, on the other hand, is a specialized form of penetration testing that specifically focuses on evaluating the security of cloud-based systems and services. It is tailored to assess the security of cloud computing environments and addresses the unique security challenges presented by cloud service models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS) and cloud providers23. After a cloud migration, a company hires a third party to conduct an assessment to detect any cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities. This process best describes cloud penetration testing, as it involves simulating real-world attacks and providing insights into the security posture of the cloud environment. References: 1: https://www.eccouncil.org/cybersecurity-exchange/penetration-testing/cloud-penetration-testing/ 2: https://www.browserstack.com/guide/cloud-penetration-testing 3: https://cloudsecurityalliance.org/blog/2022/02/12/what-is-cloud-penetration-testing

 Data sovereignty is the concept that best represents the requirement for keeping intellectual property within a country’s borders. Data sovereignty refers to the idea that data is subject to the laws and governance of the country in which it is stored or processed. Data sovereignty can have implications for data privacy, security, compliance, and access, as different countries may have different regulations, standards, or policies regarding data protection, ownership, or transfer.Data sovereignty can also affect the choice of cloud providers, as some cloud providers may store or process data in multiple locations across the world, which may not comply with the data sovereignty requirements of the customer or the country. Therefore, customers who need to ensure data sovereignty should carefully review the terms and conditions of the cloud provider, and choose the one that offers the appropriate data location, encryption, or isolation options12