CompTIA A+ Core 1 (220-1201)Virtualization and Cloud ComputingMedium
A company is migrating physical servers to the cloud but wants full control over operating systems, middleware, and application configurations. The provider should only be responsible for the physical hardware, virtualization layer, storage, and networking. Which cloud service model best fits this requirement?
- APlatform as a Service (PaaS)
- BA private on-premises data center
- CInfrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
- DSoftware as a Service (SaaS)
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: C. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
IaaS provides virtualized compute, storage, and networking while leaving the OS, middleware, and applications under the customer's control, matching the described requirement exactly.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. PaaS abstracts away the OS, which conflicts with the requirement for full OS control.
- B. An on-premises data center is not a cloud migration at all.
- D. SaaS gives no control over the underlying OS or application code.
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
A cloud model providing virtualized compute, storage, and networking resources, while the customer manages the OS, middleware, and applications.
- Examples: AWS EC2, Microsoft Azure VMs, Google Compute Engine
- Customer responsible for OS patching and app deployment
- Provider responsible for physical hardware and hypervisor
Memory trick: IaaS = 'I manage the OS and above, you handle the hardware.'