Top 50 Interview Questions for Cloud Computing With Detailed Answers

The world of cloud computing is evolving at a rapid pace, and recruiters are advancing their game with expert cloud professionals. This makes preparation of cloud computing interview questions and answers more important. To help you ace your interview, we have compiled a list of top cloud computing questions.With online cloud computing courses you can also advance your preparation.

Recommended: Top Online Artificial Intelligence Courses & Certifications
Latest: Top Online Software Development Courses & Certifications
Don't Miss: Top Online Software Testing Courses & Certifications

Here is the list of top 50 interview questions for cloud computing.

1. What is the significance of 'Cold Boot Attack' in cloud security?

Ans: A Cold Boot Attack is a scenario where an attacker gains physical access to a server or a device hosting cloud resources and retrieves sensitive data from memory.

To mitigate this risk, cloud providers employ encryption and secure boot mechanisms to protect data even when an attacker has physical access to the hardware. This is one of the frequently asked cloud computing viva questions.

2. What is cloud computing?

Ans: Cloud computing is a network access approach that provides simple, on-demand network access to a shared pool of customisable computing resources (such as networks, servers, storage, applications, and services). This technology allows businesses to scale their IT operations and reduce costs by using resources available on demand, often via the Internet.

3. What are the benefits of cloud computing?

Ans: There are many benefits of cloud computing, but some of the most notable ones include:

Increased collaboration and productivity: When employees are able to access files and applications from anywhere, they can be more productive. This is especially useful for employees who work remotely or have flexible hours.

Cost savings: Cloud computing can help businesses save money on hardware, software, and energy costs. For example, you can eliminate the need for costly on-premise servers and storage systems when you use cloud services.

Flexibility and scalability: Cloud computing allows businesses to scale their operations up or down quickly and easily, without making a major investment in new infrastructure. This can be a huge advantage for businesses that experience seasonal fluctuations in demand.

Improved disaster recovery: With cloud backups, businesses can be assured that their critical data will be safe in the event of a natural disaster or other catastrophe.

Also Read: How to Enter The Field of Cloud Computing as a Fresher

4. What are the different types of cloud computing services?

Ans: There are three main types of cloud computing services: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS).

IaaS provides users with access to virtualized computing resources, such as servers and storage, while PaaS provides a platform for building and deploying applications. SaaS provides users with access to software applications that are hosted in the cloud.

5. What are some common security concerns with cloud computing?

Ans: One of the frequently asked cloud technology interview questions is where the common security concerns with cloud computing is asked. Some common security concerns with cloud computing include data privacy, data integrity, and unauthorised access.

It is important for organisations to carefully evaluate their security requirements and choose a cloud service provider that can meet those requirements.

6. What is a virtual machine and how is it used in cloud computing?

Ans: A virtual machine (VM) is a software emulation of a physical computer, complete with its own virtualized hardware, operating system, and software applications. VMs are a fundamental building block in cloud computing.

They enable the efficient utilisation of physical hardware by allowing multiple VMs to run on a single physical server. Each VM operates independently, isolated from other VMs on the same host, and can run different operating systems and applications.

In cloud computing, VMs serve several critical purposes. They provide the agility to quickly provision and scale computing resources as needed, allowing businesses to respond rapidly to changing demands. VMs also offer a high degree of isolation, enhancing security by separating workloads and minimising the risk of one VM affecting another.

Moreover, they facilitate workload migration and disaster recovery, making it easier to move applications and data between cloud providers or data centres. Overall, virtual machines are a cornerstone of cloud infrastructure, enabling efficient resource utilisation, scalability, and flexibility for organisations seeking to harness the power of the cloud.

7. What is scalability and why is it important in cloud computing?

Ans: Scalability is a fundamental concept in cloud computing. It refers to the system's ability to handle an increasing workload or demand by adding or removing resources dynamically without disrupting its performance. In simpler terms, it means that a cloud-based application or service can seamlessly adapt to changes in user traffic, data volume, or computational requirements.

Scalability is of paramount importance in cloud computing for several reasons. Firstly, it ensures that an application can deliver consistent and reliable performance, even during peak usage periods. As businesses and user bases grow, the ability to scale allows cloud-based services to meet the increasing demand without experiencing performance bottlenecks or downtime.

Secondly, scalability is closely tied to cost efficiency. In a cloud environment, resources are provisioned and billed based on actual usage. By scaling resources up during busy periods and down during quieter times, organisations can optimise their infrastructure costs, paying only for what they need when they need it.

Also Read: Why IT Professionals Need to Upskill Themselves in Cloud Computing?

8. What is the difference between private, public, and hybrid clouds?

Ans: Another one of the most asked cloud computing viva questions and answers is the difference between private, public and hybrid clouds. Private, public, and hybrid clouds are three distinct cloud computing deployment models, each offering unique advantages and use cases.

Private Cloud: A private cloud is dedicated to a single organisation, whether it's hosted on-premises or by a third-party provider. It provides a high level of control, security, and customization, making it suitable for organisations with stringent data privacy and compliance requirements, such as financial institutions and healthcare providers.

Private clouds are typically more expensive to set up and maintain but offer the benefit of exclusive access to computing resources.

Public Cloud: A public cloud is owned and operated by a third-party cloud provider like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform (GCP). It serves multiple organisations and individuals over the Internet.

Public clouds are known for their scalability, cost-efficiency, and ease of use. They are ideal for startups, small to medium-sized businesses, and enterprises looking to offload infrastructure management and take advantage of a pay-as-you-go pricing model.

Hybrid Cloud: This combines elements of both private and public clouds, allowing data and applications to be shared between them. Hybrid cloud model offers flexibility and scalability, enabling organisations to leverage the security and control of a private cloud for sensitive workloads while utilising the cost-effectiveness and scalability of a public cloud for less critical tasks.

Hybrid clouds are valuable for businesses looking to optimise their existing infrastructure investments while taking advantage of the cloud's benefits.

9. What is containerisation and how is it used in cloud computing?

Ans: Containerisation is a virtualisation technology that enables the packaging of applications and their dependencies into lightweight, self-contained units known as containers. These containers include everything required to run an application, such as code, libraries, configuration files, and runtime environments.

Containers offer a consistent and isolated environment, ensuring that an application behaves the same way across different computing environments, from a developer's laptop to a production server. In cloud computing, containerisation has gained immense popularity for its ability to streamline application deployment, management, and scalability.

Containers are used in cloud computing to address several key challenges. Firstly, they enhance portability by allowing applications to run consistently across various cloud providers, eliminating vendor lock-in and facilitating multi-cloud or hybrid cloud strategies.

Secondly, containerisation promotes efficient resource utilisation, enabling multiple containers to run on a single host, thereby optimising infrastructure costs. Thirdly, containers offer rapid deployment and scaling capabilities, allowing developers to easily spin up or down instances to match application demands, which is crucial for handling fluctuating workloads in the cloud.

10. What is serverless computing and how is it used in cloud computing?

Ans: Serverless computing, also known as Function as a Service (FaaS), is a cloud computing paradigm that revolutionises the way applications are developed and deployed. In serverless computing, developers write code as individual functions, which are executed in response to specific events or triggers, without the need to manage the underlying server infrastructure.

This approach allows developers to focus solely on writing code for their application's core functionality, without worrying about server provisioning, scaling, or maintenance. Cloud providers, such as AWS Lambda, Azure Functions, and Google Cloud Functions, handle all the operational aspects, automatically scaling the application based on incoming requests or events.

Serverless computing offers several advantages, including cost-efficiency, scalability, reduced operational overhead, and rapid development. It is particularly useful for building event-driven and microservices-based applications, enabling developers to respond quickly to changing workloads and deliver solutions more efficiently in the cloud.

Also Read: 17+ Online Courses to Learn Advanced Cloud Computing Skills in Amazon EC2

11. What is multi-cloud and why is it becoming more popular?

Ans: Multi-cloud is a strategic approach to cloud computing that involves using the services and resources of multiple cloud providers, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and others, simultaneously within a single architecture.

This approach allows organisations to avoid vendor lock-in, leverage the strengths of different providers, and distribute workloads across multiple cloud environments. Multi-cloud is gaining popularity for several reasons.

Firstly, it enhances resilience and redundancy by reducing the risk of a single point of failure; if one cloud provider experiences downtime, services can seamlessly switch to another.

Secondly, it enables cost optimisation by choosing the most cost-effective cloud services for specific workloads. This type of cloud computing interview questions and answers will help you with better preparation.

12. What is your experience with cloud computing technologies?

Ans: Working with cloud computing technologies like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform gives important experience. A professional with these technologies design and implement cloud-based solutions for a variety of organisations, including migrating legacy applications to the cloud, developing cloud-native applications, and managing cloud infrastructure.

Cloud computing professionals stay up to date with the latest trends and developments in cloud computing and are always looking for ways to improve the performance and reliability of cloud-based systems.

13. What is the role of 'Auto Scaling' in cloud environments?

Ans: One of the commonly asked cloud interview questions and answers is about auto scaling in cloud environments. Auto Scaling is a cloud feature that dynamically adjusts the number of computing resources (e.g., virtual machines) in response to varying workloads.

It ensures optimal performance, cost-efficiency, and availability by adding or removing resources as needed, based on predefined conditions or policies.

14. How does 'Immutable Infrastructure' enhance cloud security?

Ans: Immutable Infrastructure is an important topic to know for better preparation of interview questions for cloud computing. It is an approach where servers are never modified once deployed. If changes are required, new instances are created and replace the old ones.

This minimises security risks, as any vulnerabilities or unauthorised changes can be easily addressed by simply deploying a new, secure instance.

Also Read: 20 Online Google Cloud Certification Courses to Become a Pro

15. What are the different cloud deployment models?

Ans: Cloud computing offers various deployment models, each catering to different needs and preferences of organisations. These models define how and where cloud services are hosted and made available. Here are the primary cloud deployment models:

• Public Cloud: In this model, cloud services are owned, operated, and maintained by third-party cloud service providers and made available to the general public over the internet.

• Private Cloud: A private cloud is dedicated solely to one organisation. It can be hosted on-premises or by a third-party provider. Private clouds offer enhanced security, control, and customization, making them an ideal choice for industries with strict regulatory compliance requirements, such as finance and healthcare.

• Hybrid Cloud: Hybrid clouds combine elements of both public and private clouds, allowing data and applications to be shared between them. This model offers flexibility, enabling organisations to leverage the scalability and cost-efficiency of public clouds while retaining sensitive data and critical workloads in a private environment.

• Community Cloud: Community clouds are shared by multiple organisations with common interests, such as regulatory requirements or security concerns. These organisations collaborate to build and maintain the cloud infrastructure while sharing its benefits.

• Multi-Cloud: A multi-cloud strategy involves using multiple cloud providers to meet various business needs. Organisations may choose different providers for specific services or to avoid vendor lock-in. Multi-cloud deployments enhance resilience and allow businesses to take advantage of specialised services from different providers while optimising costs and performance.

• Distributed Cloud: Distributed cloud is an emerging model where cloud resources are distributed across multiple geographic locations while managed centrally. It brings cloud services closer to where they are needed, reducing latency and complying with data sovereignty regulations. Distributed cloud aims to provide the benefits of cloud computing with localised control.

16. What is the difference between horizontal and vertical scaling?

Ans: Horizontal scaling and vertical scaling are two distinct strategies for increasing the capacity and performance of a computer system, especially in the context of cloud computing and server infrastructure.

Horizontal scaling, often referred to as scaling out, involves adding more machines or instances to a system to handle increased workload or traffic. This approach is particularly well-suited for distributed and cloud-based architectures. When demand spikes, you can simply deploy additional servers or virtual machines, distributing the load across them.

Horizontal scaling offers excellent scalability and fault tolerance because if one machine fails, the others can continue to operate. It is a cost-effective way to handle sudden surges in user activity and can be automated with load balancers to evenly distribute requests.

On the other hand, vertical scaling, also known as scaling up, focuses on enhancing the capabilities of existing servers or instances. This typically involves upgrading the server's hardware, such as adding more CPUs, increasing RAM, or expanding storage capacity.

Vertical scaling is often a viable option when a single machine can handle the current workload, but as demand grows, it may reach its limits in terms of processing power or memory. While vertical scaling can be effective for certain workloads, it has practical limits and can become expensive and complex as you reach the maximum capacity of a single server.

17. Explain the shared responsibility model in cloud security.

Ans: The Shared Responsibility Model is one of the topics you should consider while preparing for cloud computing viva questions and answers. It is a fundamental concept in cloud security that defines the division of responsibilities between cloud service providers (CSPs) and their customers.

In a cloud computing environment, the CSP manages and secures the underlying infrastructure, including the physical data centres, networking, and hardware components. This encompasses aspects such as data centre security, network maintenance, and the availability of services.

On the other hand, customers are responsible for securing what is built on top of this infrastructure. This includes their applications, data, configurations, and access controls. Essentially, customers must safeguard their virtual machines, containers, databases, and any other assets they deploy in the cloud.

They are also responsible for setting up proper access controls, encryption, and authentication mechanisms to protect their data and applications. This is yet one of the most common cloud computing interview questions and answers.

18. What is serverless architecture, and when is it suitable?

Ans: Serverless architecture is a cloud computing model that allows developers to build and deploy applications without the need to manage underlying server infrastructure. In a serverless setup, the cloud provider takes care of server provisioning, scaling, and maintenance, leaving developers free to focus solely on writing code to implement the application's functionality.

This architecture is particularly suitable for applications with varying and unpredictable workloads, as it offers automatic scalability, ensuring that resources are allocated as needed, and users are charged only for the actual usage, typically on a per-invocation basis.

Serverless also promotes a microservices-oriented approach, where applications are broken down into small, independent functions or services that can be easily developed, deployed, and scaled individually.

Also Read: 20 Online Cloud Computing Courses to Pursue

19. What is the role of DevOps in cloud computing?

Ans: DevOps plays a pivotal role in the realm of cloud computing by bridging the gap between software development and IT operations, fostering a culture of collaboration and automation throughout the software delivery lifecycle.

In a cloud computing environment, where resources are dynamic, scalable, and often managed remotely, DevOps practices are instrumental in achieving agility, efficiency, and reliability.

DevOps enables the rapid deployment of applications and services to the cloud, ensuring that code changes are seamlessly integrated, tested, and deployed. It promotes the use of infrastructure as code (IaC), allowing for the automated provisioning and management of cloud resources.

Moreover, DevOps practices encourage continuous monitoring, feedback, and optimization, ensuring that cloud-based applications perform optimally and are resilient to disruptions. Ultimately, DevOps and cloud computing are intertwined, working synergistically to empower organisations to deliver high-quality software at a faster pace while maximising the benefits of cloud infrastructure.

20. What is Cloud Foundry, and how does it relate to cloud computing?

Ans: This one of the interview questions for cloud computing is a must to know. Cloud Foundry is an open-source, platform-as-a-service (PaaS) solution that plays a significant role in cloud computing. It provides a powerful platform for developers to deploy, manage, and scale applications easily, regardless of the underlying cloud infrastructure.

Cloud Foundry abstracts the complexities of infrastructure management, allowing developers to focus solely on writing and deploying code. This platform's key strength lies in its ability to support multiple cloud providers, including AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, and more, making it cloud-agnostic.

This means that applications developed and deployed on Cloud Foundry can seamlessly run across various cloud environments without the need for significant modifications, promoting portability and flexibility in a multi-cloud strategy. Cloud Foundry also enhances the development and operations collaboration by facilitating DevOps practices.

It automates much of the application deployment and management process, streamlining the development lifecycle and enabling continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines. Additionally, it offers features like auto-scaling and self-healing, ensuring high availability and reliability for applications in the cloud.

21. Explain the term "Elastic Load Balancing" in AWS.

Ans: "Elastic Load Balancing" in AWS is a crucial service that plays a pivotal role in optimising the performance, availability, and reliability of applications running in the cloud. It essentially acts as a traffic cop for incoming web traffic, efficiently distributing it across multiple Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) instances or other resources within an AWS environment.

This service is "elastic" as it automatically scales in response to changing traffic patterns, ensuring that the application remains responsive even during traffic spikes or varying loads.

AWS offers two types of Elastic Load Balancers: the Application Load Balancer (ALB) and the Network Load Balancer (NLB). ALB is ideal for routing HTTP/HTTPS traffic and provides advanced features like content-based routing, while NLB is designed for low-latency, high-throughput traffic, making it suitable for applications like gaming or real-time communication.

Also Read: Top 50 Servicenow Interview Questions for Cloud Computing Professionals

22. What is AWS Lambda, and how does it work?

Ans: AWS Lambda is a serverless computing service offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS) that enables developers to run code without provisioning or managing servers. It is a key component of AWS's serverless architecture, allowing developers to focus solely on writing code and executing functions in response to various events or triggers.

AWS Lambda works by breaking down applications into small, self-contained functions that are executed in response to events such as changes in data in an Amazon S3 bucket, incoming HTTP requests through Amazon API Gateway, or scheduled tasks via Amazon CloudWatch Events.

When an event occurs, AWS Lambda automatically scales and provisions the required compute resources to execute the function, ensuring that it runs in a highly available and fault-tolerant manner.

This on-demand, pay-as-you-go model eliminates the need for infrastructure management, making it easier for developers to build scalable and efficient applications while only paying for the compute resources used during function execution.

AWS Lambda supports multiple programming languages, making it a versatile and powerful tool for building event-driven, serverless applications in the AWS ecosystem. This is another one of the frequently asked cloud computing interview questions.

Also Read: GCP vs AWS: Which Certification Is Better?

23. What is the AWS Well-Architected Framework, and why is it important?

Ans: The AWS Well-Architected Framework is a set of best practices and guidelines developed by Amazon Web Services (AWS). This helps architects and developers design and build secure, high-performing, resilient, and efficient infrastructure for their cloud applications.

It serves as a comprehensive framework that provides a structured approach to assess the architecture of your AWS workloads and ensure they align with industry-recognized best practices. This framework is crucial for several reasons.

Firstly, it helps organisations make informed decisions about their cloud architecture, ensuring that their applications are not only functional but also optimised for cost-effectiveness and operational excellence.

Secondly, it enhances the security posture of AWS workloads by promoting the adoption of security best practices. Thirdly, it supports performance optimization, enabling applications to scale and perform efficiently. Additionally, it emphasises the importance of resilience, helping businesses design systems that can withstand failures and disruptions.

Overall, the AWS Well-Architected Framework is instrumental in achieving robust, reliable, and cost-effective solutions in the AWS cloud, ultimately leading to better outcomes for businesses and their customers.

24. Explain the concept of "VPC Peering" in AWS.

Ans: Amazon Web Services (AWS) Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) Peering is a networking feature that allows secure and direct communication between two separate VPCs within the same AWS region.

Essentially, it enables VPCs to act as if they were on the same network, allowing resources in different VPCs to communicate with each other using private IP addresses as if they were part of a single network. VPC peering is a vital tool for organisations seeking to create complex and segmented network architectures while maintaining control and security.

When VPCs are peered at, they establish a trusted connection, enabling traffic to flow seamlessly between them without the need for complex configurations or exposing resources to the public internet.

This makes it particularly useful for scenarios such as multi-tier applications, disaster recovery setups, or segregating different environments (like development, testing, and production) while maintaining isolation and control.

25. What is Amazon S3, and how is it used in cloud storage?

Ans: Amazon S3, short for Amazon Simple Storage Service, is a highly scalable, object-based cloud storage service provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS). It is designed to store and retrieve vast amounts of data, making it a fundamental component of cloud computing and data storage solutions.

Amazon S3 is widely used for various purposes, including data backup and archiving, data lakes, website and application hosting, content delivery, and as a storage backend for cloud applications. Amazon S3 operates on a simple yet powerful model of data storage, where data is organised into "buckets" (similar to folders) and "objects" (the actual data files).

Each object is associated with a unique URL, making it easily accessible over the internet. One of the standout features of Amazon S3 is its durability and availability; data stored in S3 is redundantly stored across multiple data centres, ensuring high data durability and reliability.

Moreover, Amazon S3 offers a range of storage classes with varying performance and cost characteristics, allowing users to choose the most cost-effective option based on their specific needs. It also provides robust security features, such as access control lists (ACLs), bucket policies, and encryption options, to help users secure their data effectively.

Overall, Amazon S3 has become an integral part of cloud storage solutions, providing businesses and developers with a scalable, reliable, and cost-efficient platform to store and manage their data in the cloud. This is one of the must-know interview questions in cloud computing.

Explore Cloud Computing Certification Courses By Top Providers

• FutureSkills Cloud Computing Certification Courses
• Wileynxt Cloud Computing Certification Courses
• Skillsoft Cloud Computing Certification Courses
• Great Learning Cloud Computing Certification Courses
• Futurelearn Cloud Computing Certification Courses
• Swayam Cloud Computing Certification Courses
• Simplilearn Cloud Computing Certification Courses
• Udemy Cloud Computing Certification Courses

26. What is the difference between IAM and resource policies in AWS?

Ans: In Amazon Web Services (AWS), both Identity and Access Management (IAM) and resource policies are essential tools for managing access to AWS resources, but they serve distinct purposes and are used in different scenarios.

IAM (Identity and Access Management): IAM is a service provided by AWS that focuses on managing user identities and their access permissions within the AWS environment. With IAM, you can create and manage users, groups, and roles, and assign fine-grained permissions to them.

IAM enables you to control who can access your AWS resources, what actions they can perform, and which resources they can interact with. It is typically used for managing human users, such as employees and administrators, and it operates on the principle of least privilege, granting users only the permissions they need to perform their tasks securely.

Resource Policies: Resource policies, on the other hand, are used to control access to AWS resources directly, without necessarily involving specific IAM users or roles. These policies are associated with AWS resources like S3 buckets, Lambda functions, or SQS queues. Resource policies define who (either an AWS account or a specific IAM entity) can perform actions on the resource and what actions are allowed.

They are often used to grant cross-account access, enabling resources to be shared across different AWS accounts or making resources public. Resource policies are powerful because they allow for more granular control over resource access and are not tied to individual users or roles. This is amongst the must-know cloud computing interview questions and answers.

Also Read: Top Microsoft Azure Certifications in Cloud Computing

27. What is AWS EC2, and how does it work?

Ans: Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (AWS EC2) is a fundamental and highly versatile service offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS) that forms the backbone of cloud computing infrastructure. EC2 provides resizable virtual servers, known as instances, allowing users to run a wide range of applications, from simple web servers to complex data analytics clusters, within the AWS cloud environment.

Here is how AWS EC2 works:

Users can launch EC2 instances by selecting a predefined Amazon Machine Image (AMI) or creating their own customised AMI. These AMIs contain the operating system and software configurations necessary for the desired workload. Once an instance is launched, it is hosted on virtualized hardware within AWS data centres, known as the EC2 infrastructure.

Users have complete control over their EC2 instances, including the ability to start, stop, terminate, and resize them according to their needs. They can also choose the instance type, which determines the amount of CPU, memory, storage, and network performance allocated to the instance.

EC2 offers a variety of instance types optimised for different workloads, such as compute-intensive, memory-intensive, or storage-focused applications. One of EC2's key features is its scalability. Users can easily scale their instances up or down to meet changing demands.

Additionally, EC2 instances can be placed in various AWS Availability Zones and Regions, providing redundancy and fault tolerance. This type of practical cloud computing interview questions and answers will help you better prepare for the interview.

28. Explain the role of AWS RDS in cloud databases.

Ans: Amazon Web Services (AWS) Relational Database Service (RDS) plays a pivotal role in cloud databases by simplifying the management and operation of relational database systems.

RDS is a fully managed service that provides organisations with a scalable, secure, and highly available database solution in the cloud. Its primary role is to alleviate the administrative burdens associated with traditional database management, allowing businesses to focus on their applications and data rather than the infrastructure.

RDS offers support for various popular relational database engines, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, MariaDB, and Oracle, making it a versatile choice for diverse use cases.

One of its key roles is automating routine database tasks such as provisioning, patching, backup, and maintenance, freeing database administrators from these time-consuming responsibilities. This automation not only reduces operational overhead but also enhances the security and reliability of databases.

29. What is Azure Resource Manager, and why is it important in Microsoft Azure?

Ans: Azure Resource Manager (ARM) is a critical component of Microsoft Azure, playing a pivotal role in the management and provisioning of Azure resources. Essentially, ARM serves as the control plane for Azure, offering a unified and consistent way to deploy, manage, and organise resources within Azure subscriptions.

Its importance in Microsoft Azure stems from several key factors:

Resource Group Management: ARM allows users to group related Azure resources within a resource group, simplifying resource organisation and enabling unified management. This makes it easier to monitor, secure, and control access to resources, improving overall governance.

Template-Based Deployment: ARM leverages JSON templates known as Azure Resource Manager templates. These templates define the infrastructure and resource configurations, making it possible to deploy complex multi-resource solutions consistently and efficiently, reducing the chances of configuration errors.

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): With ARM, administrators can apply granular access control policies through RBAC, ensuring that users and applications have the right permissions to access and manage resources. This enhances security by limiting exposure to sensitive resources.

Resource Lifecycle Management: ARM tracks the entire lifecycle of Azure resources, including creation, updating, and deletion. It enables safe and orderly resource disposal, minimising the risk of leaving unused or unsecured resources behind.

Tagging and Metadata: ARM supports tagging and metadata for resources, allowing users to add custom attributes to resources for better organisation, billing, and management. This is crucial for cost allocation and tracking resource usage.

ARM intelligently handles resource dependencies, ensuring that resources are provisioned or updated in the correct order. In case of any errors during deployment, ARM can roll back the entire operation to maintain a consistent state.

Management of External Services: ARM also enables the management of external services or applications by integrating with Azure Logic Apps and Azure Policy, facilitating automation, monitoring, and compliance.

30. What are Azure Availability Zones, and how do they enhance reliability?

Ans: Azure Availability Zones are a critical component of Microsoft Azure's infrastructure designed to enhance the reliability and availability of cloud services. They are physically separate data centres within an Azure region, each with its own independent power, cooling, and networking systems.

These Availability Zones are strategically located to minimise the risk of localised failures, such as hardware failures or natural disasters, affecting the availability of applications and data.

By distributing workloads across different Availability Zones, organisations can achieve higher levels of redundancy and fault tolerance. In the event of an issue in one Availability Zone, traffic and workloads can seamlessly failover to another, ensuring that applications remain available and data remains accessible.

This redundancy and geographic dispersion make Azure Availability Zones a crucial tool for businesses seeking to maintain high levels of uptime and reliability for their mission-critical applications and services in the Azure cloud ecosystem. This is one of the must-know interview questions in cloud computing.

31. What is Azure Functions, and when is it used in serverless computing?

Ans: Azure Functions is a serverless computing service provided by Microsoft Azure, one of the leading cloud computing platforms. It is designed to enable developers to build, deploy, and run event-driven applications without the need to manage infrastructure.

Azure Functions allows you to write and deploy code in response to various triggers, such as HTTP requests, database changes, or timer-based events, and it automatically scales to handle the workload as events occur. This serverless platform supports a wide range of programming languages and integrates seamlessly with other Azure services, making it a powerful tool for building serverless applications.

Azure Functions is particularly valuable in serverless computing when you need to execute specific pieces of code in response to events or requests without the overhead of managing servers or infrastructure. It is commonly used for tasks such as data processing, automation, building microservices, handling real-time data streams, and creating RESTful APIs.

By using Azure Functions, developers can focus solely on writing application logic and let Azure handle the scaling, availability, and resource management, which leads to increased development productivity and cost efficiency. It is a versatile and robust solution for building serverless applications that can adapt to various use cases and workloads.

32. Explain the difference between Amazon S3 and Amazon EBS in AWS.

Ans: Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service) and Amazon EBS (Elastic Block Store) are both storage services offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS), but they serve different purposes and have distinct characteristics.

Amazon S3 is an object storage service that is ideal for storing and retrieving large amounts of unstructured data, such as documents, images, videos, and backups. It is designed for high durability and availability, making it suitable for data archiving, backup, content distribution, and data lakes.

On the other hand, Amazon EBS is a block storage service that provides persistent block-level storage volumes for use with Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) instances. EBS volumes are typically used to store data that requires low-latency access, such as operating system files and application data.

EBS volumes are attached to EC2 instances and provide a range of performance options, including SSD-backed and HDD-backed volumes, allowing users to choose the right storage type based on their specific workload requirements.

Also Read: Learn All About Azure Portal

33. What is Kubernetes, and how does it relate to container orchestration in the cloud?

Ans: Kubernetes, often abbreviated as K8s, is a powerful open-source container orchestration platform that plays a central role in managing and deploying containerized applications in cloud environments. At its core, Kubernetes automates the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications, making it easier to manage complex microservices architectures and ensuring that applications run reliably and efficiently.

In the context of container orchestration in the cloud, Kubernetes is a game-changer. It provides a robust framework for automating the deployment and scaling of containers, which are lightweight, portable, and consistent units of software.

Containers allow developers to package their applications and dependencies together, ensuring that they run consistently across different environments, from development laptops to cloud-based production servers. This is one of the frequently-asked interview questions in cloud computing.

34. What are serverless databases, and give an example?

Ans: Serverless databases, also known as serverless database-as-a-service (DBaaS), are a modern cloud computing paradigm that simplifies database management by abstracting away the complexities of server provisioning, scaling, and maintenance.

In essence, serverless databases allow developers to focus solely on building and optimising their applications, while the cloud provider takes care of the database infrastructure. These databases automatically scale resources based on demand, charging users only for the actual resources used, rather than a fixed allocation.

One popular example of a serverless database is AWS Aurora Serverless. AWS Aurora is a MySQL and PostgreSQL-compatible relational database service, and its serverless variant allows users to set a minimum and maximum capacity for their database instances.

As application demands fluctuate, Aurora Serverless seamlessly adjusts the computing and memory capacity, ensuring optimal performance and cost-efficiency. Developers can enjoy the benefits of automatic scaling and high availability without the need to manage database servers, making it an excellent choice for serverless application architectures.

35. Explain the concept of "Infrastructure as Code" (IaC) in cloud computing.

Ans: This one of the cloud computing basic interview questions is often asked in interviews. Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is a fundamental concept in cloud computing that revolutionises the way IT infrastructure is managed and deployed.

It involves the practice of defining and provisioning infrastructure resources—such as virtual machines, networks, and storage—using code and automation scripts rather than manual configuration. With IaC, infrastructure configurations are treated as code artefacts, typically written in languages like YAML or JSON, and managed through version control systems like Git.

36. What is the role of a Content Delivery Network (CDN) in cloud computing?

Ans: A Content Delivery Network (CDN) plays a crucial role in enhancing the performance, availability, and reliability of cloud computing services. In the context of cloud computing, a CDN is a distributed network of servers strategically located across various geographical regions.

Its primary purpose is to optimise the delivery of digital content, such as web pages, images, videos, and other media, to end-users. In cloud computing, CDNs work by caching and storing copies of content on their servers, strategically placing these servers close to end-users. When a user requests content, the CDN routes the request to the nearest server, reducing latency and speeding up content delivery.

This proximity to users not only improves load times but also minimises the strain on the cloud infrastructure, leading to cost savings and improved scalability. CDNs also offer security benefits by providing protection against distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks and helping to mitigate other security threats.

Overall, CDNs in cloud computing act as a critical intermediary layer that enhances the performance, reliability, and security of cloud-based applications and services, ultimately delivering a seamless and efficient user experience.

37. What are the advantages and disadvantages of serverless computing?

Ans: One of the frequently asked interview questions for cloud computing is the advantages and disadvantages of serverless computing. Serverless computing offers several advantages, but it also comes with its own set of disadvantages. One of the most significant advantages is scalability.

Serverless platforms automatically handle the allocation of resources, allowing applications to effortlessly scale with demand. This means you only pay for the computing resources you use, leading to cost savings.

Serverless also simplifies infrastructure management, as developers can focus on writing code rather than worrying about servers, making it easier to develop and deploy applications quickly. Additionally, serverless architectures often offer high availability and fault tolerance because they distribute and replicate functions across multiple data centres.

However, serverless computing has its drawbacks. Cold start times can be a significant issue, as there may be a delay when a function is first invoked, impacting real-time and latency-sensitive applications.

Vendor lock-in is another concern, as moving from one serverless platform to another can be challenging due to proprietary services and configurations. Debugging and monitoring can also be more complex in serverless environments, making it harder to pinpoint issues and optimise performance.

38. What is the significance of a cloud SLA (Service Level Agreement)?

Ans: A Cloud Service Level Agreement (SLA) is of paramount significance in the realm of cloud computing as it outlines the mutual expectations and responsibilities between a cloud service provider and its customers. This contractual agreement sets the performance standards and guarantees for services such as uptime, availability, response times, and data security.

The significance of a cloud SLA lies in its ability to provide transparency and accountability, offering customers assurance that their critical applications and data will be accessible and reliable. It acts as a safeguard against potential downtime, data loss, or service disruptions, mitigating risks and ensuring business continuity.

Furthermore, SLAs foster trust between providers and customers, enabling better planning and resource allocation while allowing for legal recourse in case of breaches. In essence, a well-crafted cloud SLA is not just a contract; it is a critical tool for businesses to ensure the dependability and performance of their cloud-based services, which in turn supports their overall operations and objectives.

39. What is the difference between data backup and data archiving in cloud storage?

Ans: Data backup and data archiving are both essential data management practices in cloud storage, but they serve different purposes. Data backup involves creating duplicate copies of your data to protect against data loss or corruption. These copies are typically made at regular intervals, and they capture the current state of your data, including any changes or updates.

Backups are designed for quick and easy restoration in case of data disasters, such as hardware failures, accidental deletions, or cyberattacks. They prioritise data availability and are often retained for a shorter period, usually weeks or months. On the other hand, data archiving focuses on preserving data for the long term, usually for compliance, historical, or legal reasons.

Archived data is typically not frequently accessed but needs to be retained for extended periods, sometimes years or even decades. Archiving solutions in cloud storage often include features like data compression and deduplication to reduce storage costs. Archiving prioritises data retention and compliance, and it may involve moving data to less expensive storage tiers as it becomes less frequently accessed.

40. Explain the concept of "Zero Trust" security in cloud computing.

Ans: This is one of the important topics you must consider while preparing for cloud computing viva questions and answers. Zero Trust is a cybersecurity framework and approach that has gained significant prominence in the context of cloud computing and network security.

It is based on the principle of not trusting any user or system, whether inside or outside the organisation's network, by default. In a traditional security model, once a user gains access to the network, they often enjoy a certain level of trust and freedom to move laterally within it.

In the context of cloud computing, where data and applications are hosted remotely, the Zero Trust approach becomes even more critical. It means that even if data or applications are in the cloud, they are not automatically considered secure, and every access request must be validated rigorously.

This approach relies on continuous monitoring, identity and access management, encryption, and multifactor authentication to ensure that only authorised users gain access to resources.

41. What is the difference between synchronous and asynchronous communication in cloud services?

Ans: Synchronous and asynchronous communication are two fundamental approaches to how data and tasks are exchanged and processed in cloud services. In synchronous communication, interactions occur in real time, where a request is made, and the system waits for an immediate response before proceeding.

This means that the client or application making the request is blocked until it receives a reply, which can be ideal for scenarios where instant feedback or immediate results are crucial. However, it can lead to performance bottlenecks and delays if there is a high volume of requests or if the processing time is lengthy.

On the other hand, asynchronous communication decouples the request and response, allowing the client to continue its work without waiting for an immediate reply. Instead, the system acknowledges the request and processes it independently, typically storing the results in a queue or some form of storage.

This approach is more scalable and resilient, making it suitable for handling large workloads and long-running tasks. However, it can be more complex to implement, as it requires mechanisms for tracking and retrieving results, and it may not be suitable for use cases where immediate feedback is essential.

42. What are AWS Lambda Layers, and how do they enhance serverless applications?

Ans: AWS Lambda Layers are a powerful feature of Amazon Web Services (AWS) that enhances serverless applications by simplifying code management, reducing deployment package sizes, and promoting code reuse. Layers allow you to separate common libraries, dependencies, and custom runtimes from your Lambda function code.

By doing so, you can create a clean and efficient development environment, enabling faster development cycles and reducing the complexity of your deployment packages. This separation also makes it easier to manage and version your dependencies, which is crucial for maintaining consistency and stability in serverless applications.

Furthermore, Lambda Layers enable you to share code across multiple functions, reducing redundancy and promoting a modular architecture. This not only enhances the manageability of your serverless applications but also contributes to efficient resource utilisation and cost savings.

Overall, AWS Lambda Layers are a valuable tool for developers building serverless applications, helping them streamline development and maintenance processes while improving application performance and scalability.

43. What is AWS Step Functions, and how is it used in serverless workflows?

Ans: Cloud Computing viva questions cannot be incomplete with this one question. AWS Step Functions is a serverless orchestration service offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS) that simplifies the creation and management of complex workflows and applications.

It allows users to design, visualise, and execute workflows using a state machine model. Step Functions can coordinate multiple AWS services, such as AWS Lambda, Amazon S3, Amazon DynamoDB, and more, to build serverless applications that respond to events and automate various tasks.

In serverless workflows, AWS Step Functions plays a crucial role by providing a structured way to sequence and coordinate serverless functions and services. It allows developers to define the logic and flow of their applications as a series of steps or states. It makes it easier to handle error handling, retry mechanisms, parallel processing, and conditional branching within a serverless architecture.

This helps in building robust and scalable applications without worrying about the underlying infrastructure, as AWS takes care of the server provisioning and scaling automatically.

44. Explain the role of a bastion host in cloud security.

Ans: A bastion host is a dedicated server used to secure access to private networks and resources. It, often referred to as a jump server or a bastion server, plays a critical role in enhancing the security of cloud environments. Its primary function is to act as an intermediary between the public internet and the internal network or private instances within a cloud infrastructure.

This dedicated server is intentionally exposed to the internet, serving as the sole entry point for administrators and authorised users to access the cloud environment securely. The bastion host is configured with strict security measures, including robust authentication mechanisms, multi-factor authentication, and extensive auditing and logging capabilities.

It acts as a gateway that permits inbound SSH (Secure Shell) or RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) connections only from authenticated and authorised individuals. By funnelling all external access through this single point, organisations can tightly control and monitor who gains access to their cloud resources.

45. What is the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), and why is it important in cloud technology?

Ans: This one of the cloud interview questions and answers is considered important to prepare. The Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) is a prominent open-source organisation that plays a pivotal role in advancing cloud technology. Its primary mission is to foster the growth and development of cloud-native computing by providing a vendor-neutral home for a wide range of open-source projects.

CNCF hosts and supports numerous projects that are essential for building and deploying cloud-native applications, including Kubernetes, Prometheus, Envoy, and more. These technologies are crucial in enabling organisations to efficiently develop, scale, and manage applications in cloud environments.

CNCF's importance lies in its role as a collaborative hub, bringing together industry leaders, developers, and users to establish common standards, share best practices, and drive innovation in cloud-native technologies. By promoting interoperability and standardisation, CNCF accelerates the adoption of cloud-native solutions, ultimately benefiting organisations seeking to harness the full potential of the cloud.

Also Read: 10 Best Online Cloud Architect Courses and Certifications for Professionals

46. What are the key considerations when designing a cloud architecture for high availability?

Ans: Designing a cloud architecture for high availability is essential to ensure that services and applications remain accessible and functional even in the face of failures or disruptions. Several key considerations must be taken into account when developing such an architecture.

First and foremost, redundancy is crucial. Duplicating critical components, such as servers, databases, and data centres, across multiple geographic regions or availability zones within a cloud provider's infrastructure is essential. This redundancy helps mitigate the impact of hardware failures, network issues, or even entire data centre outages.

Load balancing plays a pivotal role in high availability as well. Distributing incoming traffic across multiple servers or instances not only enhances performance but also ensures that if one component fails, traffic can be automatically redirected to healthy ones, minimising downtime.

Moreover, data replication and backup strategies are paramount. Employing techniques like continuous data replication, automatic failover mechanisms, and regular backups can safeguard against data loss and service disruptions caused by software bugs, data corruption, or other unforeseen events.

47. What is serverless application architecture, and when is it beneficial?

Ans: Serverless application architecture is a cloud computing paradigm where developers can build and deploy applications without the need to manage traditional servers or infrastructure.

Instead of provisioning and maintaining servers, serverless computing platforms, like AWS Lambda, Azure Functions, or Google Cloud Functions, automatically manage the underlying infrastructure and only charge for the actual compute resources used during the execution of functions or services.

This approach offers several benefits, including scalability on demand, reduced operational overhead, and cost efficiency. Serverless architecture is particularly beneficial for applications with variable workloads, as it can seamlessly scale up or down based on demand.

It also suits scenarios where rapid development and deployment are crucial, as it allows developers to focus solely on writing code and delivering features without worrying about server management or capacity planning.

48. Explain the principles of the Twelve-Factor App methodology in cloud-native development.

Ans: The Twelve-Factor App methodology is a set of best practices and principles that guide the development of cloud-native applications, designed to ensure scalability, maintainability, and portability in modern cloud environments.

• Codebase: A single codebase should be maintained in a version control system, enabling collaboration and tracking changes across the development lifecycle.

• Dependencies: Explicitly declare and isolate dependencies, minimising conflicts and ensuring consistent environments by using tools like package managers.

• Config: Store configuration settings in environment variables to make the application more portable and secure, allowing easy configuration changes without code modifications.

• Backing Services: Treat external services, such as databases or queues, as attached resources that can be swapped or scaled independently, ensuring flexibility and robustness.

• Build, Release, Run: Separate the build, release, and run stages of your application, enabling reproducible and consistent deployments with versioned releases.

• Processes: Run the application as stateless processes that can be easily scaled horizontally, improving fault tolerance and scalability.

• Port Binding: Export services via a port binding mechanism and avoid hardcoding service addresses, ensuring applications can be easily moved between different environments.

• Concurrency: Scale the application horizontally by adding more stateless processes, allowing it to take advantage of modern cloud infrastructure effectively.

• Disposability: Design applications to be disposable and stateless, allowing them to be easily restarted and scaled while minimising downtime.

• Dev/Prod Parity: Keep development, staging, and production environments as similar as possible to reduce the likelihood of deployment issues.

• Logs: Treat logs as event streams and store them in a centralised location for easy monitoring, debugging, and analysis.

• Admin Processes: Run administrative tasks as one-off processes to ensure they do not interfere with the main application, making maintenance and scaling more straightforward.

49. What are the challenges and strategies for cost management in cloud computing?

Ans: Cost management in cloud computing presents several challenges that organisations must address to optimise their cloud spending. One primary challenge is the complexity of cloud pricing models, which can be intricate and difficult to predict.

Organisations often struggle to estimate their monthly bills accurately, leading to unexpected costs. Additionally, cloud resources can be provisioned easily, which can result in resource sprawl and increased expenses. To overcome these challenges, organisations should implement effective cost-management strategies.

One key strategy is to continuously monitor and analyse cloud usage and spending patterns using cloud cost management tools. This enables organisations to identify underutilised resources, track spending trends, and make data-driven decisions. Another approach is to implement resource optimization techniques such as rightsizing, which involves matching resource configurations to actual workloads.

Employing automation to scale resources up or down based on demand can also help control costs. Additionally, organisations should establish cost control policies and educate their teams about cost-conscious practices to foster a culture of cost awareness.

50. Explain the 'CAP Theorem' and its relevance in distributed cloud systems.

Ans: The CAP theorem, also known as Brewer's theorem, is a fundamental concept in the field of distributed computing that addresses the trade-offs between three crucial properties of distributed systems: Consistency, Availability, and Partition Tolerance.

Consistency refers to the requirement that all nodes in a distributed system should have a consistent view of the data. In other words, every read operation should return the most recent write. Availability means that every request to the system should receive a response, even if it is not the most up-to-date data.

Partition Tolerance is the system's ability to continue functioning even in the presence of network partitions or communication failures, which can occur in distributed systems. The CAP theorem states that in a distributed system, you can achieve at most two out of these three properties simultaneously.

In other words, you can have consistency and availability (CA systems), but they may not be partition-tolerant. Alternatively, you can have consistency and partition tolerance (CP systems), but they may not be highly available. Finally, you can have availability and partition tolerance (AP systems), but they may not provide strong consistency guarantees.

In the context of distributed cloud systems, the CAP theorem is highly relevant because it helps architects and developers make design decisions based on the specific needs of their applications.

Explore AWS Certification Courses by Top Providers

• Mindmajix Technologies AWS Foundation Certification Courses
• Edx AWS Foundation Certification Courses
• Udemy AWS Foundation Certification Courses
• Intellipaat AWS Foundation Certification Courses
• Simpliv Learning AWS Foundation Certification Courses
• FutureSkills AWS Foundation Certification Courses
• Infosec Train AWS Foundation Certification Courses
• Careerera AWS Foundation Certification Courses

Conclusion

Cloud computing is becoming increasingly important as businesses embrace digital transformation and storage systems. Understanding the common interview questions for cloud computing can help you prepare for your next job interview and give you an advantage over other applicants.

We hope this list of top cloud computing interview questions and answers has given you an adequate understanding of what employers may be looking for when it comes to hiring for roles in this field. So you can make sure you are ready with answers during your next job interview and excel in your career as a cloud engineer.