Cloud Computing Interview Questions for fresher with Answers – Cloud computing refers to the delivery of computing services like storage, databases, networking, and software over the internet (“the cloud”). For freshers, cloud interview questions typically focus on understanding the basics of cloud computing, including its models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS) and deployment types (public, private, hybrid).
You may be asked about the advantages of cloud computing, such as scalability, cost-effectiveness, and flexibility. Questions could also cover key cloud service providers like AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud, along with their core services, such as compute, storage, and networking.
Interviewers might inquire about common cloud concepts like virtualization, containers, and cloud security, as well as cloud-based storage (e.g., S3 in AWS) and databases. Understanding how to work with cloud management consoles, set up virtual machines, and ensure data security through encryption and backup strategies can be beneficial. Basic knowledge of cloud monitoring and resource management tools will also help demonstrate a strong foundation in cloud computing.
Here the most important Cloud Computing Interview Questions for fresher with Answers .
1.What is Cloud Computing?
Cloud computing is the delivery of computing services, including servers, storage, databases, networking, software, and analytics, over the Internet (“the cloud”). It allows users to access and manage resources without owning or maintaining physical hardware. Cloud computing provides scalability, flexibility, and cost-efficiency by offering services on-demand. The key service models include IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service), PaaS (Platform as a Service), and SaaS (Software as a Service).
2.What are the main types of Cloud Deployment Models?
The main cloud deployment models include:
- Public Cloud: Services are delivered over the internet and shared across multiple customers.
- Private Cloud: Dedicated infrastructure is used by a single organization.
- Hybrid Cloud: A combination of public and private clouds.
- Community Cloud: Shared infrastructure among organizations with similar concerns.
Each model offers different levels of security, control, and customization.
3.What is IaaS?
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a cloud computing model that provides virtualized computing resources over the internet. IaaS offers virtual machines, storage, networks, and other fundamental computing resources, allowing users to scale their infrastructure on demand. Users manage the operating system, applications, and configurations, while the cloud provider manages the underlying infrastructure.
4.What is PaaS?
Platform as a Service (PaaS) is a cloud model that provides an environment for developers to build, test, and deploy applications without managing the underlying infrastructure. PaaS offers pre-configured environments with tools for development, testing, and deployment. This model accelerates the development process by reducing the need for infrastructure management, making it easier to focus on coding.
5.What is SaaS?
Software as a Service (SaaS) is a cloud model where software applications are delivered over the internet on a subscription basis. The cloud provider hosts and manages the software, taking care of maintenance, updates, and security. Users access the software through a web browser. Examples include Google Workspace and Microsoft 365.
6.What are the benefits of Cloud Computing?
The benefits of cloud computing include:
- Scalability: Easily scale resources up or down.
- Cost Efficiency: Pay only for the resources you use.
- Accessibility: Access services from anywhere with an internet connection.
- Flexibility: Quickly deploy and modify services.
- Disaster Recovery: Built-in backup and recovery solutions for data protection.
7.What is serverless computing?
Serverless computing is a cloud model where developers build and run applications without managing server infrastructure. The cloud provider handles the server management, scaling, and maintenance. Functions as a Service (FaaS) is a serverless approach where code is executed in response to events. Serverless models reduce operational complexity and improve scalability.
8.What is cloud migration?
Cloud migration is the process of moving data, applications, or other business elements from on-premises infrastructure to the cloud. It can also involve moving resources between different cloud providers or from one cloud model to another. Successful cloud migration strategies ensure data integrity, security, and minimal disruption to operations.
9.What is a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)?
A Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) is a private, isolated section of a public cloud where users can deploy resources like virtual machines and storage. VPCs provide enhanced control over network configuration, allowing users to define IP address ranges, subnets, routing tables, and security settings. It ensures data isolation and security within the public cloud infrastructure.
10.What is cloud elasticity?
Elasticity in cloud computing refers to the ability to automatically scale resources (such as CPU, memory, or storage) up or down based on demand. It ensures that the system adapts to varying workloads without manual intervention, improving cost-efficiency and performance by allocating the necessary resources in real-time.
11.What is cloud scalability?
Scalability is the capability of a cloud system to handle increased workloads by adding resources without affecting performance. It can be vertical (adding more power to existing resources) or horizontal (adding more instances of resources). Scalability ensures that the application can grow to meet increased demand without compromising functionality.
12.What are cloud service-level agreements (SLAs)?
Service-Level Agreements (SLAs) are formal agreements between cloud providers and users that define the expected level of service, including uptime, performance, and support. SLAs specify metrics such as availability, response times, and penalties for non-compliance. They ensure that cloud services meet business requirements and provide transparency in service expectations.
13.What is multi-tenancy in cloud computing?
Multi-tenancy is a cloud architecture where multiple customers (tenants) share the same physical resources while keeping their data isolated. Cloud providers achieve multi-tenancy by using virtualization and logical isolation techniques. It optimizes resource usage, reduces costs, and allows for scalability while maintaining security and privacy for each tenant.
14.What is cloud bursting?
Cloud bursting is a hybrid cloud strategy where an application primarily runs in a private cloud or data center, but can “burst” into a public cloud when additional computing resources are needed. This approach ensures that businesses have access to scalable resources during peak demand while minimizing costs associated with always running on public cloud infrastructure.
15.What is a cloud-native application?
A cloud-native application is an application designed to take full advantage of cloud computing features, such as scalability, elasticity, and distributed architecture. These applications are typically built using microservices, containers, and Kubernetes orchestration. Cloud-native design enables fast development, automated deployment, and seamless scaling across cloud environments.
16.What are containers in cloud computing?
Containers are lightweight, standalone software packages that include the application code and all its dependencies. Containers ensure that applications run consistently across different environments, whether on premises, in the cloud, or on multiple platforms. Popular container technologies include Docker and Kubernetes.
17.What is Kubernetes?
Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration platform that automates the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. It ensures that containers run smoothly by managing workloads, scaling resources, and providing self-healing capabilities. Kubernetes is widely used in cloud-native environments to manage complex microservices architectures.
18.What are cloud regions and availability zones?
Cloud providers, such as AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, organize their infrastructure into regions and availability zones. A region is a geographical area containing multiple availability zones, which are isolated data centers. Availability zones provide redundancy and high availability by distributing resources across different locations within a region.
19.What is a Content Delivery Network (CDN)?
A Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a distributed network of servers that deliver content (such as web pages, images, and videos) to users based on their geographical location. CDNs reduce latency and improve the performance of content delivery by caching content on servers closer to the end-users. Popular CDN providers include Cloudflare and Akamai.
20.What is cloud security?
Cloud security refers to the technologies, policies, and practices designed to protect cloud-based systems, applications, and data from threats. It encompasses areas like identity and access management (IAM), encryption, firewalls, and compliance with regulations. Cloud providers offer security measures, but organizations are responsible for implementing shared security models for robust protection.
21.What is encryption in cloud computing?
Encryption in cloud computing is the process of encoding data so that it can only be accessed by authorized users with the correct decryption key. Data-at-rest encryption protects stored data, while data-in-transit encryption secures data as it moves between devices and cloud services. Encryption ensures data confidentiality and compliance with security standards.
22.What is Identity and Access Management (IAM) in the cloud?
Identity and Access Management (IAM) is a framework of policies and technologies used to ensure that only authorized individuals and systems have access to cloud resources. IAM includes user authentication, authorization, and role-based access control (RBAC). Cloud providers like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud offer IAM solutions to manage security and compliance.
23.What is disaster recovery in cloud computing?
Disaster recovery (DR) in cloud computing refers to the strategy and technologies used to ensure that an organization’s data and applications can be quickly restored after a disaster, such as a system failure, cyberattack, or natural event. Cloud DR services provide offsite backups, failover systems, and data replication, ensuring business continuity.
24.What is cloud orchestration?
Cloud orchestration refers to the automated arrangement, coordination, and management of cloud infrastructure and services. Orchestration tools handle the integration of cloud resources, provisioning, and scaling across multiple environments. It enables the deployment and management of complex cloud solutions, improving efficiency and reducing human error.
25.What is a hybrid cloud?
A hybrid cloud is a cloud computing model that combines public and private clouds, allowing data and applications to be shared between them. It enables organizations to leverage the scalability and cost-efficiency of public clouds while maintaining the control and security of private clouds. This model provides greater flexibility and optimized resource allocation.
26.What is load balancing in the cloud?
Load balancing in cloud computing distributes incoming traffic across multiple servers or resources to ensure high availability, reliability, and performance. Load balancers prevent server overload by managing traffic efficiently. Cloud providers offer managed load balancing services that automatically scale resources based on traffic patterns.
27.What is a cloud API?
A cloud API is an interface that allows developers to interact with cloud services and applications programmatically. Cloud APIs enable automation of tasks like resource provisioning, monitoring, and management. They provide standardized methods to access cloud services, such as storage, compute, and networking, ensuring seamless integration between cloud and on-premises systems.
28.What are the challenges of cloud adoption?
Some key challenges of cloud adoption include:
- Data Security: Ensuring that sensitive data is protected.
- Compliance: Meeting regulatory requirements.
- Vendor Lock-in: Difficulty in switching providers.
- Cost Management: Managing unpredictable costs due to scaling.
- Complexity: Integrating with legacy systems and ensuring seamless operation.
29.What is a cloud management platform (CMP)?
A Cloud Management Platform (CMP) is a suite of tools and software that provides centralized management, monitoring, and optimization of cloud resources. CMPs help organizations manage multiple cloud environments, enabling tasks such as cost management, security monitoring, and automation. Examples include AWS CloudFormation and Google Cloud Deployment Manager.
30.What is edge computing?
Edge computing involves processing data closer to the source (or edge) of the data, such as IoT devices, rather than sending it to a centralized cloud data center. Edge computing reduces latency and improves real-time processing for applications like autonomous vehicles, smart cities, and healthcare monitoring.
31.What are microservices?
Microservices is an architectural approach where an application is composed of small, loosely coupled services that each perform a specific function. Microservices can be deployed independently and scale independently, improving resilience, scalability, and ease of development. This architecture is widely used in cloud-native applications.
32.What is cloud automation?
Cloud automation is the process of using software tools and scripts to automate the deployment, management, and scaling of cloud resources. It reduces the need for manual intervention, improves efficiency, and ensures consistent application of policies. Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is a common cloud automation technique.
33.What is Infrastructure as Code (IaC)?
Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is a method of provisioning and managing cloud infrastructure using code rather than manual processes. IaC allows users to define infrastructure configurations in declarative or imperative code, ensuring consistency, repeatability, and automation. Popular IaC tools include Terraform and AWS CloudFormation.
34.What is a service mesh?
A service mesh is a dedicated infrastructure layer that manages communication between microservices. It provides features like load balancing, encryption, and service discovery, improving reliability, security, and observability in distributed applications. Istio and Linkerd are popular service mesh solutions.
35.What is a cloud broker?
A cloud broker is a third-party service that helps organizations manage multiple cloud service providers. Cloud brokers offer services like aggregation, customization, and integration of cloud resources. They ensure seamless interoperability between different cloud environments and simplify multi-cloud management.
36.What is a container registry?
A container registry is a repository where container images are stored, managed, and distributed. It allows developers to store and retrieve container images needed for application deployment. Cloud providers offer container registries, such as Docker Hub and Amazon ECR, to support containerized applications in production environments.
37.What is a hypervisor?
A hypervisor is software that creates and runs virtual machines (VMs). It allows multiple operating systems to run on a single physical machine by abstracting the underlying hardware. Hypervisors can be bare-metal (Type 1) or hosted (Type 2). Popular examples include VMware and Hyper-V.
38.What is an availability zone?
An availability zone (AZ) is a physically isolated data center within a cloud region. Each AZ has independent power, cooling, and networking to ensure high availability. AZs provide redundancy and fault tolerance, allowing cloud providers to offer 99.99% uptime guarantees for their services.
39.What is a service-level objective (SLO)?
A Service-Level Objective (SLO) is a measurable target that defines the expected performance of a service, such as uptime, response time, or throughput. SLOs are often specified in SLAs and serve as benchmarks to measure the performance and reliability of cloud services.
40.What is a cloud workload?
A cloud workload refers to any task, application, or service that consumes cloud resources such as compute, storage, or network. Cloud workloads can vary from simple data processing tasks to complex machine learning models, and they are managed dynamically by cloud providers to meet the demands of users.
41.What is a firewall in cloud computing?
A firewall in cloud computing is a security device or service that monitors and controls incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predefined security rules. Cloud firewalls protect cloud infrastructure from unauthorized access, malware, and data breaches. Many cloud providers offer managed firewall services as part of their security solutions.
42.What is a cloud tenant?
A cloud tenant is an individual or organization that owns or manages a specific set of cloud resources within a multi-tenant environment. Tenants in cloud computing are logically isolated, ensuring that each tenant’s data and applications remain private and secure while sharing the same underlying physical infrastructure.
43.What is a virtual machine (VM)?
A Virtual Machine (VM) is a software-based simulation of a physical computer, running an operating system and applications. In the cloud, VMs are used to run workloads, allowing for scalability and flexibility. VMs are hosted on physical servers using hypervisors, enabling the deployment of multiple VMs on a single machine.
44.What is block storage in the cloud?
Block storage is a cloud storage solution where data is stored in fixed-sized blocks. Each block operates as an independent unit, and together, they form a virtual hard drive. Cloud block storage is often used for databases and virtual machine disk storage because of its high performance and low latency.
45.What is object storage in the cloud?
Object storage is a type of storage where data is stored as objects, each containing the data, metadata, and a unique identifier. Object storage is highly scalable and used for storing large amounts of unstructured data, such as media files, backups, and logs. Examples include Amazon S3 and Google Cloud Storage.
46.What is file storage in the cloud?
File storage in the cloud is a storage system where data is stored and accessed as files in directories and subdirectories. It provides a familiar file hierarchy and is typically used for shared file storage and collaboration. Cloud providers offer managed file storage services like Azure Files and Amazon EFS.
47.What is API Gateway in cloud computing?
An API Gateway is a cloud service that acts as a reverse proxy for API requests, providing routing, monitoring, and security features. It handles tasks such as load balancing, throttling, and authentication for APIs, ensuring smooth and secure communication between clients and backend services. Examples include AWS API Gateway.
48.What is cloud monitoring?
Cloud monitoring refers to the process of tracking and managing the performance, security, and availability of cloud infrastructure and services. Tools like CloudWatch (AWS) and Azure Monitor provide insights into resource usage, application performance, and system health, helping organizations detect issues and optimize cloud operations.
49.What is a clou provider?
A cloud provider is a company that offers cloud services to individuals, businesses, and governments. Cloud providers offer services across multiple domains, such as compute, storage, databases, and networking. Major cloud providers include Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform.
50.What is the difference between a private cloud and public cloud?
A private cloud is a cloud environment where resources are dedicated to a single organization, offering greater control and security. A public cloud is a cloud environment where resources are shared among multiple organizations over the internet. While private clouds offer more security, public clouds provide greater scalability and cost-efficiency.