CompTIA CV0-003 - CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam

SOA stands for Start of Authority, and it is a type of DNS record that contains information about a DNS zone, such as the name of the primary name server, the email address of the zone administrator, the serial number of the zone, and other parameters. The serial number is used to indicate when a zone has been updated, and it is incremented by the primary name server whenever a change is made to the zone data. The secondary name servers use the serial number to determine if they need to request a zone transfer from the primary name server to synchronize their data.

References: [CompTIA Cloud+ Study Guide], page 207.

A snapshot is an image of your system/volume at a specific point in time. It captures the entire file system as it was when the snapshot was taken. When a snapshot is used to restore the system, the system will revert to exactly how it was at the time of the snapshot1. Snapshots are designed for short-term storage and fast recovery. They do not need a lot of storage space or time to create copies234.

Taking a snapshot of the system before the OS upgrade would ensure the fastest recovery of the system in case the upgrade fails in an unrecoverable way. The administrator could simply restore the system from the snapshot and avoid any data loss or corruption. This would be much faster and easier than performing a full backup or testing the upgrade in a preproduction environment.

Telnet and FTP are two services that should be disabled on a cloud server because they are insecure and vulnerable to attacks. Telnet and FTP use plain text to transmit data over the network, which means that anyone who can intercept the traffic can read or modify the data, including usernames, passwords, commands, files, etc. This can lead to data breaches, unauthorized access, or malicious actions on the server1.

Instead of Telnet and FTP, more secure alternatives should be used, such as SSH (Secure Shell) and SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol). SSH and SFTP use encryption to protect the data in transit and provide authentication and integrity checks for the communication. SSH and SFTP can prevent eavesdropping, tampering, or spoofing of the data and ensure the confidentiality and privacy of the server2.

The other options are not services that should be disabled on a cloud server:

Option C: Remote login. Remote login is a service that allows users to access a remote server from another location using a network connection. Remote login can be useful for managing, configuring, or troubleshooting a cloud server without having to physically access it. Remote login can be secured by using encryption, authentication, authorization, and logging mechanisms3.

Option D: DNS (Domain Name System). DNS is a service that translates human-friendly domain names into IP addresses that can be used to communicate over the Internet. DNS is essential for resolving the names of the cloud resources and services that are hosted on the cloud platform. DNS can be secured by using DNSSEC (DNS Security Extensions), which add digital signatures to DNS records to verify their authenticity and integrity.

Option E: DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol). DHCP is a service that assigns IP addresses and other network configuration parameters to devices on a network. DHCP can simplify the management of IP addresses and avoid conflicts or errors in the network. DHCP can be secured by using DHCP snooping, which filters out unauthorized DHCP messages and prevents rogue DHCP servers from assigning IP addresses.

Option F: LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol). LDAP is a service that stores and organizes information about users, devices, and resources on a network. LDAP can provide identity management and access control for the cloud environment. LDAP can be secured by using LDAPS (LDAP over SSL/TLS), which encrypts the LDAP traffic and provides authentication and integrity checks.

The best answer is A. Rightsizing.

Rightsizing is the process of restructuring a company so it can make a profit more efficiently and meet updated business objectives1. Organizations will usually rightsize their business by reducing their workforce, reorganizing upper management, cutting costs, and changing job roles2.

Rightsizing can help solve the issue of VMs constantly ballooning, while the memory usage of several other VMs is significantly lower than their resource allocation. Ballooning is a memory reclamation technique used when ESXi host runs out of memory. It involves a balloon driver that consumes unused memory within the VM’s address space and makes it available for other uses by the host machine3. However, ballooning can also degrade the performance of the VMs and cause swapping or paging4.

By rightsizing the VMs, the systems administrator can adjust the memory allocation according to the actual demand and usage of each VM. This can prevent overprovisioning or underprovisioning of memory resources and improve the efficiency and profitability of the company. Rightsizing can also help avoid redundancies, streamline workflows, and make better hiring decisions1.

Detailed Explanation:

A. Incremental backups with snapshots: Incremental backups combined with periodic snapshots provide a cost-effective solution to minimize RPO by enabling quick recovery of recently modified data.

References:

CompTIA Cloud+ CV0-003 Study Guide Chapter 20: Backup and Restore Operations​​.