CompTIA Cloud+ Practice Test

Which of the following terms refers to the process that combines both hardware and software in cloud resource management?

1. Virtualization

2. Infrastructure as Code

3. Automation

4. Containerization

The correct answer is: Infrastructure as Code

The term that refers to the process of combining both hardware and software in cloud resource management is Infrastructure as Code (IaC). This approach allows you to manage and provision infrastructure through machine-readable definition files, rather than through physical hardware configuration or interactive configuration tools. With IaC, you can treat your infrastructure similarly to how you handle application code, applying software development best practices such as version control, testing, and deployment. This automation results in more consistent and reliable environments, as it removes the manual steps that can introduce errors and variability in the configuration of hardware and software resources in the cloud. In contrast, virtualization primarily focuses on creating virtual versions of physical hardware to optimize resource utilization. Automation, while important, generally refers to the elimination of manual tasks and repetitive processes but does not necessarily encompass the integration of hardware and software management. Containerization deals specifically with packaging applications and their dependencies into containers for easier deployment and scaling, which again focuses more on application delivery than the overarching management of both hardware and software resources within the cloud.