What is the definition of cloud computing?
A) Software installed locally on company hardware managed by an internal IT team.
B) Dedicated physical servers rented from a hosting provider on a monthly basis.
C) A virtualization technology that runs multiple OS instances on a single machine.
D) On-demand delivery of IT resources (compute, storage, databases, networking) via an API-driven model. Resources are provisioned in seconds to minutes, and you pay only for what you use.
D) On-demand delivery of IT resources (compute, storage, databases, networking) via an API-driven model. Resources are provisioned in seconds to minutes, and you pay only for what you use.
What are the three cloud deployment models?
A) Edge Cloud, Fog Cloud, and Core Cloud.
B) IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS deployment models.
C) 1. All-in Cloud – all workloads on a cloud provider like AWS (used by startups/modern enterprises) | 2. On-Premises (Private Cloud) – own data centre, internal virtualisation (strict security/compliance) | 3. Hybrid Cloud – mix of cloud + on-premises connected via high-speed links (legacy + cloud benefits)
D) Public Cloud, Community Cloud, and Distributed Cloud.
C) 1. All-in Cloud – all workloads on a cloud provider like AWS (used by startups/modern enterprises) | 2. On-Premises (Private Cloud) – own data centre, internal virtualisation (strict security/compliance) | 3. Hybrid Cloud – mix of cloud + on-premises connected via high-speed links (legacy + cloud benefits)
What is the difference between Hybrid Cloud and Multi-Cloud?
A) They are the same thing — both use multiple cloud providers simultaneously.
B) Multi-cloud is only for enterprises; hybrid cloud is only for startups.
C) Hybrid cloud uses multiple providers; multi-cloud mixes on-premises with one provider.
D) Hybrid cloud = on-premises + one cloud provider. Multi-cloud = using multiple cloud providers simultaneously.
D) Hybrid cloud = on-premises + one cloud provider. Multi-cloud = using multiple cloud providers simultaneously.
What are the pros and cons of traditional on-premises IT?
A) Pros: low cost and fast scaling. Cons: less control and customisation.
B) Pros: no upfront costs. Cons: slow scaling and vendor lock-in.
C) Pros: increased control and customisation. | Cons: high cost, slow scaling (doubling servers can take weeks/months), requires upfront investment in hardware, power, cooling, rack space, and staffing.
D) Pros: instant global deployment. Cons: requires large IT team.
C) Pros: increased control and customisation. | Cons: high cost, slow scaling (doubling servers can take weeks/months), requires upfront investment in hardware, power, cooling, rack space, and staffing.
What are the 6 benefits of cloud computing (key exam topic)?
A) 1. Free hardware 2. Unlimited bandwidth 3. No compliance requirements 4. Automatic code deployment 5. Built-in disaster recovery 6. Free support
B) 1. Reduce latency 2. Eliminate databases 3. Remove security needs 4. Free storage 5. Instant scaling 6. No billing
C) 1. Trade OpEx for CapEx 2. Economies of scale 3. Unlimited capacity 4. Reduce agility 5. Outsource all IT 6. Deploy regionally only
D) 1. Trade fixed expense (CapEx) for variable expense (OpEx) | 2. Benefit from massive economies of scale | 3. Stop guessing capacity | 4. Increase speed and agility | 5. Stop spending money on running/maintaining data centres | 6. Go global in minutes
D) 1. Trade fixed expense (CapEx) for variable expense (OpEx) | 2. Benefit from massive economies of scale | 3. Stop guessing capacity | 4. Increase speed and agility | 5. Stop spending money on running/maintaining data centres | 6. Go global in minutes
Explain ‘Trade fixed expense for variable expense’ in cloud.
A) You pay a fixed monthly fee regardless of how much you use, eliminating unpredictable bills.
B) You trade your existing software licences for AWS-managed licences at a fixed annual rate.
C) AWS charges upfront for all resources, reducing your ongoing operational costs to zero.
D) In cloud you pay only for what you consume – no upfront capital expenditure on data centres/servers. You pay only when computing resources are consumed.
D) In cloud you pay only for what you consume – no upfront capital expenditure on data centres/servers. You pay only when computing resources are consumed.
Explain ‘Benefit from massive economies of scale’.
A) AWS passes hardware manufacturing costs directly to customers through spot pricing.
B) Individual customers negotiate lower prices by committing to long-term contracts with AWS.
C) AWS aggregates usage from hundreds of thousands of customers, driving down pay-as-you-go prices through its massive purchasing power.
D) AWS reduces costs by limiting the number of services it offers to increase specialisation.
C) AWS aggregates usage from hundreds of thousands of customers, driving down pay-as-you-go prices through its massive purchasing power.
Explain ‘Stop guessing capacity’.
A) AWS predicts your future usage automatically and pre-provisions exactly what you need.
B) AWS charges you based on your peak usage forecast rather than actual consumption.
C) Traditional IT forces over-provisioning (wasted resources) or under-provisioning (performance issues). Cloud lets you scale up/down in minutes to access exactly the capacity you need.
D) You must still provision capacity in advance, but AWS provides better forecasting tools.
C) Traditional IT forces over-provisioning (wasted resources) or under-provisioning (performance issues). Cloud lets you scale up/down in minutes to access exactly the capacity you need.
Explain ‘Increase speed and agility’.
A) New IT resources are available in minutes vs. weeks in traditional IT, dramatically reducing the time and cost of experimentation and development.
B) AWS automatically writes and deploys code faster than on-premises development teams.
C) Cloud eliminates the need for software development, allowing faster time-to-market.
D) New IT resources require a 2–4 week approval process versus months on-premises.
A) New IT resources are available in minutes vs. weeks in traditional IT, dramatically reducing the time and cost of experimentation and development.
Explain ‘Go global in minutes’.
A) AWS automatically translates your application into all languages for global users.
B) You can move your entire data centre to another country within minutes using Snowmobile.
C) You can deploy applications in any AWS Region worldwide with a few clicks, giving end users lower latency and a better experience globally.
D) AWS ships pre-configured servers to your location within minutes of ordering.
C) You can deploy applications in any AWS Region worldwide with a few clicks, giving end users lower latency and a better experience globally.
What is CapEx vs OpEx in the context of cloud?
A) CapEx is for software licences; OpEx is for physical server purchases only.
B) CapEx = monthly usage fees; OpEx = one-time hardware purchase at start of project.
C) Both are the same in cloud — all AWS costs are classified as capital expenditure.
D) CapEx = upfront capital investment in hardware with long depreciation cycles (3-5 years) and over/under-provisioning risk. | OpEx = pay-as-you-go, no upfront cost, expense in the same period as use, right-sized resources.
D) CapEx = upfront capital investment in hardware with long depreciation cycles (3-5 years) and over/under-provisioning risk. | OpEx = pay-as-you-go, no upfront cost, expense in the same period as use, right-sized resources.
What factors should you consider for Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)?
A) Server count, RAM, and CPU only — network and staff costs are excluded from TCO.
B) Just the AWS monthly invoice compared to your previous hosting provider’s bill.
C) Only hardware purchase price and annual software licence fees.
D) Server/hardware costs, data centre facility costs (power, cooling, space), IT staff salaries, licensing fees, security/compliance overhead, and opportunity cost of time spent managing infrastructure.
D) Server/hardware costs, data centre facility costs (power, cooling, space), IT staff salaries, licensing fees, security/compliance overhead, and opportunity cost of time spent managing infrastructure.
What are the 5 AWS pricing models?
A) Pay-as-you-go, Subscription, Prepaid, Credit-based, and Barter.
B) On-Demand, Reserved, Spot, Free Tier, and Enterprise.
C) 1. On-Demand – pay by hour/second, no commitment | 2. Reserved Instances (1 or 3-year) – up to 72% discount | 3. Spot Instances – bid on unused capacity, up to 90% discount, can be interrupted | 4. Savings Plans – flexible commitment-based pricing | 5. Dedicated Hosts – physical server dedicated to your use
D) Hourly, Daily, Monthly, Annual, and Lifetime.
C) 1. On-Demand – pay by hour/second, no commitment | 2. Reserved Instances (1 or 3-year) – up to 72% discount | 3. Spot Instances – bid on unused capacity, up to 90% discount, can be interrupted | 4. Savings Plans – flexible commitment-based pricing | 5. Dedicated Hosts – physical server dedicated to your use
What are the 6 pillars of the AWS Well-Architected Framework?
A) Compute, Storage, Networking, Databases, Security, and Monitoring.
B) Agility, Elasticity, Durability, Observability, Portability, and Compliance.
C) Security, Scalability, Availability, Manageability, Affordability, and Simplicity.
D) 1. Operational Excellence | 2. Security | 3. Reliability | 4. Performance Efficiency | 5. Cost Optimisation | 6. Sustainability
D) 1. Operational Excellence | 2. Security | 3. Reliability | 4. Performance Efficiency | 5. Cost Optimisation | 6. Sustainability
Describe the Operational Excellence pillar.
A) Run and monitor systems, continuously improve operations. Key practices: Infrastructure as Code (IaC), annotate documentation, make small frequent reversible changes, anticipate failure.
B) Eliminate all manual operations by fully automating every process with zero human interaction.
C) Prioritise adding new features as quickly as possible with minimal testing or review.
D) Focus exclusively on reducing costs through right-sizing and Reserved Instances.
A) Run and monitor systems, continuously improve operations. Key practices: Infrastructure as Code (IaC), annotate documentation, make small frequent reversible changes, anticipate failure.
Describe the Security pillar of the Well-Architected Framework.
A) Disable logging to reduce storage costs while using AWS-native protection services.
B) Protect information, systems, and assets. Key practices: implement strong identity, enable traceability, apply security at all layers, automate security best practices, protect data in transit and at rest.
C) Encrypt only data at rest; data in transit encryption is handled automatically by AWS.
D) Assign one master admin user all permissions to simplify access management.
B) Protect information, systems, and assets. Key practices: implement strong identity, enable traceability, apply security at all layers, automate security best practices, protect data in transit and at rest.
Describe the Reliability pillar.
A) Deploy all workloads in a single AZ to reduce network latency and complexity.
B) Avoid horizontal scaling; instead use the largest possible instance type for reliability.
C) Manually monitor systems and intervene during failures to ensure uptime.
D) Recover from failures and meet demand dynamically. Key practices: test recovery procedures, scale horizontally, stop guessing capacity, manage change via automation.
D) Recover from failures and meet demand dynamically. Key practices: test recovery procedures, scale horizontally, stop guessing capacity, manage change via automation.
Describe the Performance Efficiency pillar.
A) Always use the same instance types regardless of workload to maintain consistency.
B) Provision maximum capacity upfront to ensure resources are never a bottleneck.
C) Use computing resources efficiently. Key practices: use advanced technologies, go global in minutes, use serverless architectures, experiment more often.
D) Avoid serverless — it introduces cold starts that reduce performance efficiency.
C) Use computing resources efficiently. Key practices: use advanced technologies, go global in minutes, use serverless architectures, experiment more often.
Describe the Cost Optimisation pillar.
A) Use On-Demand instances exclusively to avoid commitment and maintain flexibility.
B) Disable monitoring and logging to reduce CloudWatch costs.
C) Always choose the most powerful instance type to avoid performance issues that cost more.
D) Avoid unnecessary costs. Key practices: adopt consumption model, measure overall efficiency, stop spending on undifferentiated heavy lifting, analyse and attribute expenditure.
D) Avoid unnecessary costs. Key practices: adopt consumption model, measure overall efficiency, stop spending on undifferentiated heavy lifting, analyse and attribute expenditure.
Describe the Sustainability pillar.
A) Minimise environmental impact of cloud workloads. Key practices: understand impact, establish sustainability goals, maximise utilisation, use managed services, reduce downstream impact.
B) Maximise resource usage by always running instances at 100% CPU utilisation.
C) Use only on-premises infrastructure to avoid the environmental cost of cloud data centres.
D) Avoid managed services as they consume more energy than self-managed infrastructure.
A) Minimise environmental impact of cloud workloads. Key practices: understand impact, establish sustainability goals, maximise utilisation, use managed services, reduce downstream impact.
What are the 4 cloud design principles (beyond the Well-Architected Framework)?
A) 1. Design for failure – assume everything fails; build resiliency (no single point of failure) | 2. Decouple components – loosely coupled architectures (e.g. SQS) reduce blast radius | 3. Implement elasticity – scale in/out automatically | 4. Think parallel – horizontal scaling over vertical scaling
B) 1. Design for perfection 2. Tightly couple components 3. Avoid elasticity 4. Process serially
C) 1. Use monolithic architecture 2. Pre-provision maximum capacity 3. Avoid queues 4. Scale manually
D) 1. Centralise components 2. Scale vertically 3. Use a single availability zone 4. Minimise automation
A) 1. Design for failure – assume everything fails; build resiliency (no single point of failure) | 2. Decouple components – loosely coupled architectures (e.g. SQS) reduce blast radius | 3. Implement elasticity – scale in/out automatically | 4. Think parallel – horizontal scaling over vertical scaling
What are the 3 ways to interact with AWS?
A) 1. AWS Management Console – web-based GUI, ideal for beginners | 2. AWS CLI – command-line tool, popular with engineers | 3. AWS SDKs – programmatic access (Python/boto3, Java, JavaScript, Ruby, Go, etc.)
B) Management Console, AWS Support Portal, and AWS Marketplace.
C) REST API only — all other interfaces are built on top of direct API calls.
D) Web GUI, Mobile App, and SSH terminal.
A) 1. AWS Management Console – web-based GUI, ideal for beginners | 2. AWS CLI – command-line tool, popular with engineers | 3. AWS SDKs – programmatic access (Python/boto3, Java, JavaScript, Ruby, Go, etc.)
When was AWS launched and with which service?
A) 2003 with Amazon EC2, which was the first cloud compute service.
B) 2004 with Amazon SQS, which was the first ever cloud service.
C) 2008 with Amazon RDS, which started the cloud database era.
D) 2006, with Amazon S3 (then SQS shortly after). Today AWS offers 300+ services.
D) 2006, with Amazon S3 (then SQS shortly after). Today AWS offers 300+ services.
What are the 6 AWS core service categories?
A) EC2, S3, VPC, RDS, IAM, and CloudWatch.
B) Servers, Databases, Files, Queues, Emails, and Analytics.
C) Compute, Storage, Networking & Content Delivery, Databases, Security/Identity/Compliance, Management & Governance.
D) Compute, Storage, Networking, AI/ML, IoT, and Blockchain.
C) Compute, Storage, Networking & Content Delivery, Databases, Security/Identity/Compliance, Management & Governance.
