CompTIA A+ · Domain 4 · 11% of the examCore 1 (220-1201) · Virtualization and Cloud Computing
10 practice questions. Tap an option to check it, or open “Show answer” for the explanation.
1. Which statement describes a Type 1 hypervisor?
Objective 4.1Show answerHide answer
Answer: B. It runs directly on the hardware with no host OS underneath (bare metal)
A Type 1 hypervisor is installed directly on the hardware and manages VMs itself, which is typical for servers. A hypervisor that runs as an app on a host OS is Type 2.
Checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) · Oct 14, 2026
2. A developer installs VirtualBox on her Windows 11 laptop so she can run an Ubuntu VM in a window next to her other apps. What kind of hypervisor is she using?
Objective 4.1Show answerHide answer
Answer: D. Type 2 hypervisor
A Type 2 (hosted) hypervisor runs as an application on an existing OS. A Type 1 hypervisor would replace Windows and run directly on the hardware.
Checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) · Oct 14, 2026
3. A security analyst wants to open a suspicious email attachment to see what it does without putting her workstation or the company network at risk. Which approach should she use?
Objective 4.1Show answerHide answer
Answer: A. Open it in a sandbox VM that is isolated from the network and can be reverted to a clean snapshot
A sandbox VM keeps the file away from real systems, and a snapshot lets her roll back to a clean state afterward. Running as a standard user still exposes the workstation's files and network to the malware.
Checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) · Oct 14, 2026
4. How do containers differ from virtual machines?
Objective 4.1Show answerHide answer
Answer: C. Containers share the host OS kernel and package only the application and its dependencies
Containers share the host's kernel, so they are lightweight and start quickly. A full guest OS on virtual hardware describes a VM, which is why VMs are heavier.
Checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) · Oct 14, 2026
5. A technician installs a hypervisor on a desktop, but it reports that hardware virtualization is not available. The Intel CPU supports VT-x. What should the technician do?
Objective 4.1Show answerHide answer
Answer: B. Enable virtualization support (Intel VT-x / AMD-V) in the UEFI settings
CPU virtualization extensions are often turned off by default in firmware and have to be enabled there. More RAM helps run more VMs but won't make the missing feature available.
Checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) · Oct 14, 2026
6. A hospital wants staff to sign in from any thin client and get the same Windows desktop, with all data staying in the data center. Which solution fits?
Objective 4.1Show answerHide answer
Answer: A. Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)
VDI runs desktops on central servers and streams them to any endpoint, so the desktop follows the user and the data never leaves the data center. A hypervisor on each thin client would keep the desktop and its data on that one device.
Checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) · Oct 14, 2026
7. A small business wants email, word processing and file storage it can use from a web browser, with the provider handling all servers, OS updates and application patches. Which cloud model fits?
Objective 4.2Show answerHide answer
Answer: D. SaaS
With software as a service, the provider runs and maintains the whole application and the customer just uses it. PaaS gives developers a platform for building their own applications.
Checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) · Oct 14, 2026
8. A company rents virtual servers, storage and networking from a cloud provider, then installs and patches its own operating systems and applications on them. Which service model is this?
Objective 4.2Show answerHide answer
Answer: C. IaaS
Infrastructure as a service provides the compute, storage and network, and the customer manages everything from the OS up. With PaaS, the provider would also manage the OS and runtime.
Checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) · Oct 14, 2026
9. An online retailer's web traffic triples during holiday sales. It wants cloud resources to grow automatically during the peak and shrink afterward, so it pays only for what it uses. Which cloud characteristic is this?
Objective 4.2Show answerHide answer
Answer: A. Elasticity
Elasticity is the ability to add and remove resources automatically as demand changes. Availability is about uptime and redundancy, not about matching capacity to demand.
Checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) · Oct 14, 2026
10. Several regional hospitals with the same regulatory requirements pool their money to share cloud infrastructure that only they can use. Which deployment model is this?
Objective 4.2Show answerHide answer
Answer: D. Community cloud
A community cloud is shared by several organizations with common needs, such as compliance rules. A hybrid cloud is one organization combining public and private clouds.
Checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) · Oct 14, 2026
Original practice questions written from CompTIA’s published exam objectives, not real exam questions. CompTIA is a trademark of CompTIA, Inc.; this site isn’t affiliated with CompTIA.