CompTIA Cloud+ (CV0-004)OperationsMedium
A cloud administrator is performing routine lifecycle management for virtual machines. They have identified several VMs that are no longer actively used, but still consume compute and storage resources. The administrator needs to safely reclaim these resources without impacting any dependent services. What is the most appropriate action to take?
- AArchive the VM images and then terminate the VMs.
- BMigrate the VMs to a lower-cost storage tier indefinitely.
- CImmediately terminate the VMs to free up resources.
- DPower off the VMs and monitor for any impact before termination.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: D. Power off the VMs and monitor for any impact before termination.
Powering off VMs allows stopping resource consumption without permanent deletion. Monitoring for impact ensures no hidden dependencies are affected before proceeding with potential termination, which is a safer approach in lifecycle management.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Archiving images is a good practice for potential future retrieval, but it doesn't immediately address the 'safely reclaim resources' aspect and still requires the VMs to be terminated.
- B. Migrating to a lower-cost storage tier reduces storage cost but doesn't reclaim compute resources and implies the VM might still be needed, which contradicts 'no longer actively used'.
- C. Immediately terminating VMs without prior checks is risky and could disrupt unforeseen dependent services, leading to outages.
Cloud Resource Decommissioning
The systematic process of removing cloud resources (e.g., VMs, storage, networks) that are no longer needed, ensuring resource optimization and cost savings.
- Involves identifying unused resources.
- Requires validation of no dependencies before removal.
- Often includes steps like powering off, archiving, and then terminating.
Memory trick: Before you trash, check for a crash!