Cloud Computing Interview Questions and Answers
Freshers / Beginner level questions & answers
Ques 1. What is Cloud Computing?
Cloud computing is a technology that allows users to access and use computing resources (such as servers, storage, databases, networking, software) over the internet instead of owning and maintaining them locally.
Ques 2. Explain the three main service models of cloud computing.
The three main service models of cloud computing are Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS).
Ques 3. Explain the term 'Elasticity' in the context of cloud computing.
Elasticity in cloud computing refers to the ability to dynamically allocate and deallocate resources based on demand. It allows for automatic scaling of resources to handle varying workloads.
Ques 4. What is the role of a load balancer in a cloud environment?
A load balancer distributes incoming network traffic across multiple servers to ensure even resource utilization and high availability. It enhances the performance and reliability of applications.
Ques 5. Explain the term 'Auto Scaling' in cloud computing.
Auto Scaling is a feature that automatically adjusts the number of compute resources in a cloud environment based on demand. It ensures optimal performance without manual intervention.
Ques 6. What is the purpose of a VPC (Virtual Private Cloud) in cloud computing?
A VPC provides a logically isolated section of the cloud where you can launch resources. It allows you to define your own network environment with IP address ranges, subnets, and route tables.
Ques 7. What is the role of Identity and Access Management (IAM) in cloud security?
IAM controls access to cloud resources by managing user identities, permissions, and authentication. It ensures that only authorized users have access to specific resources.
Ques 8. What is the role of a CDN (Content Delivery Network) in cloud computing?
A CDN is a system of distributed servers that deliver web content to users based on their geographic location. It improves website performance, reduces latency, and enhances user experience.
Ques 9. What is a 'server farm' in cloud computing?
A server farm is a group of interconnected servers used to provide computing resources. It is designed to ensure high availability, reliability, and scalability for applications and services.
Ques 10. What is the purpose of a 'Key Vault' in cloud security?
A Key Vault is a secure storage area for cryptographic keys and secrets. It provides centralized management of sensitive information and helps in secure key access and storage.
Ques 11. Explain the term 'DevOps' and its relationship with cloud computing.
DevOps is a set of practices that combines software development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops) to shorten the software development life cycle. Cloud computing provides an ideal platform for implementing DevOps practices.
Ques 12. What is 'Serverless Computing' and when is it advantageous?
Serverless computing is a cloud computing execution model where the cloud provider dynamically manages the infrastructure. It is advantageous for applications with variable workloads as users are only charged for actual usage.
Ques 13. What is the role of a 'Network Security Group' (NSG) in cloud computing?
A Network Security Group is a set of rules that control the inbound and outbound traffic to network interfaces (VMs, load balancers) in Azure. It acts as a basic firewall for controlling traffic flow.
Intermediate / 1 to 5 years experienced level questions & answers
Ques 14. What is the difference between public, private, and hybrid clouds?
A public cloud is owned and operated by a third-party cloud service provider. A private cloud is used exclusively by one organization. A hybrid cloud combines elements of both public and private clouds.
Ques 15. Explain the concept of virtualization in cloud computing.
Virtualization is the process of creating a virtual (rather than physical) version of something, such as a server, storage device, or network resources. In cloud computing, virtualization enables the efficient use of physical resources by creating virtual instances of them.
Ques 16. What is the role of a hypervisor in virtualization?
A hypervisor, also known as a Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM), is a software or hardware component that allows multiple operating systems to share a single hardware host. It manages and allocates resources to virtual machines.
Ques 17. What is the significance of Load Balancing in a cloud environment?
Load balancing distributes incoming network traffic across multiple servers to ensure that no single server is overwhelmed with too much traffic. It improves the performance, availability, and reliability of applications.
Ques 18. Explain the difference between horizontal and vertical scaling.
Horizontal scaling involves adding more machines or nodes to a system to handle increased load. Vertical scaling involves increasing the resources (CPU, RAM) of an existing machine to handle increased load.
Ques 19. What is serverless computing?
Serverless computing is a cloud computing execution model where the cloud provider manages the infrastructure, automatically allocating resources as needed to execute and scale applications. Developers only focus on writing code without worrying about server management.
Ques 20. What is the difference between scalability and elasticity in cloud computing?
Scalability refers to the ability of a system to handle a growing amount of workload. Elasticity, on the other hand, is the ability to automatically adapt to changing workloads by provisioning and de-provisioning resources dynamically.
Ques 21. Explain the concept of a CDN (Content Delivery Network).
A CDN is a network of distributed servers that work together to deliver web content, such as images and videos, to users based on their geographical location. It improves performance by reducing latency and increasing content availability.
Ques 22. What is the role of a container orchestration tool, and name a popular one.
Container orchestration tools manage the deployment, scaling, and operation of application containers. Kubernetes is a popular container orchestration tool.
Ques 23. Explain the term 'Multi-tenancy' in cloud computing.
Multi-tenancy is a cloud architecture where a single instance of a software application serves multiple customers (tenants). Each tenant's data is isolated and remains invisible to other tenants.
Ques 24. What are the advantages of using serverless architecture in cloud computing?
Serverless architecture offers benefits such as reduced operational complexity, cost savings by paying only for actual usage, and automatic scalability. Developers can focus on code without managing servers.
Ques 25. Explain the difference between stateful and stateless applications.
Stateful applications retain information about the state of a user's interactions, while stateless applications do not store such information between sessions. Stateless applications are often more scalable.
Ques 26. What is a cloud service level agreement (SLA), and why is it important?
A cloud SLA is a contract between a cloud service provider and a customer that outlines the level of service and performance the customer can expect. It is important as it sets expectations and provides a basis for accountability.
Ques 27. Explain the concept of 'BYOD' in the context of cloud computing security.
BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) is a policy that allows employees to use their personal devices to access company networks and data. In the context of cloud computing, it poses security challenges that need to be addressed.
Ques 28. Explain the concept of 'Cloud Bursting' in cloud computing.
Cloud Bursting is the process of moving workloads from a private cloud to a public cloud during periods of high demand. It allows organizations to scale up temporarily when local resources are insufficient.
Ques 29. What are the key considerations for data backup and recovery in the cloud?
Key considerations include regular backups, data encryption, geographic redundancy, and a well-defined recovery strategy. Ensuring data integrity and availability is crucial for business continuity.
Ques 30. Explain the difference between horizontal and vertical scaling in the context of databases.
Horizontal scaling involves adding more database nodes to a system, while vertical scaling involves increasing the resources (CPU, RAM) of an existing database server. Horizontal scaling is often more scalable.
Ques 31. Explain the concept of 'Fault Tolerance' in cloud computing.
Fault tolerance is the ability of a system to continue operating without interruption in the presence of hardware or software failures. Cloud environments use redundancy and failover mechanisms to achieve fault tolerance.
Ques 32. What is 'Immutable Infrastructure' in cloud computing?
Immutable infrastructure is an approach where once an infrastructure component is deployed, it is never modified. Instead, new instances are created with updates, reducing configuration drift and improving consistency.
Ques 33. Explain the concept of 'Blue-Green Deployment' in cloud computing.
Blue-Green Deployment is a strategy where two identical production environments, labeled 'blue' and 'green,' are maintained. Only one environment is active at a time, allowing for seamless updates and rollbacks.
Ques 34. What is the role of a 'Reverse Proxy' in cloud architecture?
A reverse proxy is a server that sits between client devices and a web server, forwarding client requests to the server and returning the server's responses to the clients. It can improve security, performance, and scalability.
Ques 35. Explain the concept of 'Serverless Database' in cloud computing.
A serverless database is a database service that automatically scales, provisions, and manages infrastructure based on the actual usage. Users are charged based on their consumption, and they don't need to manage database servers.
Ques 36. What is 'Infrastructure as Code' (IaC) in cloud computing?
Infrastructure as Code is a practice of managing and provisioning computing infrastructure through machine-readable script files rather than physical hardware configuration or interactive configuration tools.
Ques 37. Explain the concept of 'Data Sovereignty' in cloud computing.
Data sovereignty refers to the concept that data is subject to the laws of the country in which it is located. It is an important consideration for organizations dealing with sensitive or regulated data.
Ques 38. Explain the concept of 'Edge Computing' in cloud architecture.
Edge computing is a paradigm where data processing is performed near the source of data generation rather than relying on a centralized cloud server. It reduces latency and bandwidth usage for time-sensitive applications.
Ques 39. What are the key considerations for data migration to the cloud?
Key considerations include data security, compatibility, bandwidth, downtime, and ensuring data consistency during migration. A well-planned migration strategy is crucial for a successful transition.
Ques 40. Explain the concept of 'Compliance as Code' in cloud security.
Compliance as Code is an approach that uses code and automation to ensure that IT infrastructure adheres to regulatory and security compliance standards. It helps in maintaining a consistent and auditable compliance posture.
Experienced / Expert level questions & answers
Ques 41. What are the key security concerns in cloud computing?
Key security concerns in cloud computing include data breaches, data loss, unauthorized access, insecure interfaces and APIs, and compliance challenges. Security measures like encryption and access controls are crucial.
Ques 42. What is the CAP theorem in distributed systems?
The CAP theorem states that in a distributed system, it's impossible to simultaneously provide all three of the following guarantees: Consistency, Availability, and Partition tolerance. You can achieve at most two of the three.
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