CompTIA Cloud+ Practice Test

Which metric can indicate the load and performance of a virtual machine due to security applications?

1. Memory usage

2. Disk I/O

3. CPU usage

4. Network latency

The correct answer is: CPU usage

Choosing CPU usage as the correct metric for indicating the load and performance of a virtual machine, particularly in relation to security applications, is a strong choice because security applications often require significant computational resources. When security applications such as antivirus, intrusion detection systems, or encryption services are running, they tend to utilize a considerable amount of CPU capacity. High CPU usage can suggest that these applications are performing time-consuming tasks, such as scanning for threats or processing encryption algorithms, which can impede the overall performance of the virtual machine. By monitoring CPU usage, administrators can identify whether the virtual machine is being heavily taxed by these applications and whether adjustments need to be made, such as scaling resources or optimizing application configurations. While other metrics such as memory usage, disk I/O, and network latency can provide insights into the virtual machine's performance, they do not directly correlate with the load imposed by CPU-intensive security tasks to the same extent. For instance, while memory usage indicates how much RAM is being consumed, it doesn't specifically reflect the processing burdens of security applications. Disk I/O measures how much data is being read or written but may not directly indicate performance issues caused by CPU-demanding processes. Network latency concerns itself with communication delays and is less relevant to the internal processing demands of