CompTIA Cloud+ Practice Test

Which cloud solution provides only hardware and network resources?

1. SaaS

2. CaaS

3. PaaS

4. IaaS

The correct answer is: IaaS

The correct choice is IaaS, which stands for Infrastructure as a Service. This cloud solution specifically offers foundational resources such as virtualized hardware and networking capabilities over the internet. With IaaS, users receive the fundamental building blocks needed to run applications and manage workloads without having to maintain the physical hardware themselves. IaaS allows customers to procure and manage resources like servers, storage, and networking components while maintaining control over the operating systems and applications running on them. This flexibility is crucial for businesses that require scalability and a customizable infrastructure without the overhead of investing in and managing physical servers. Understanding IaaS is essential, especially in contrast to other models such as PaaS, which offers a platform for developing and deploying applications, and SaaS, which delivers software applications over the internet. CaaS, or Containers as a Service, also provides platform-level resources specifically for containerized applications. While these alternatives include various layers of services, IaaS remains focused solely on providing the underlying hardware and network infrastructure.