CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives (CV0-003) 

The CompTIA Cloud+ certification is one of the leading credentials, which is recognized and accepted by many big enterprises around the globe. The Cloud+ exam validates the knowledge and skills of an IT professional on cloud methodology and cloud techniques. 

A successful candidate has the skills and knowledge needed to understand the cloud methodology and to implement, maintain and deliver cloud technologies such as network, storage, and virtualization technologies. 

CompTIA recommends that IT professionals have the following:

• CompTIA Network+ certification and/or CompTIA Server+ certification, although CompTIA certifications are not required. 
• At least 24–36 months of work experience in IT networking, network storage, or data center administration. 
• Familiarity with any major hypervisor technologies for server virtualization, although vendor-specific certifications in virtualization are not required. 
• Knowledge of cloud service model (IaaS, Paas, Saas) definitions 
• Knowledge of common cloud deployment model (Private, Public, Hybrid) definitions 
• Hands-on experience with at least one public cloud IaaS platform

CompTIA Cloud+ exam details

Take a quick at the CompTIA Cloud+ certification exam details:

CompTIA Cloud+ exam objectives (domains)

Here is the breakdown of CompTIA Cloud+ certification exam objectives, along with the percentage of examination. 

Domains Percentage of Examination

CompTIA Cloud+ Certification Exam Objectives

The CompTIA Cloud+ certification exam is one of the leading credentials in the cloud certification category. The Cloud+ exam focuses on various key areas such as cloud Architect, security, deployment, troubleshooting, and support. Each domain is divided into subcategories with the percentage of total questions that will help you get the domain-wise score.

Domain - 1.0 Cloud Architecture and Design 

Cloud Architecture and Design, the first domain of the CompTIA Cloud+ certification exam, focus on cloud-related methods and concepts. These topics include different types of cloud models, the importance of high availability and scaling in cloud environments, support for business requirements, and much more. The domain is accountable for 13% of the questions in the Cloud+ exam. 

The domain is divided into four important categories, explaining cloud architecture and design. 

1.1 Compare and contrast the different types of cloud models.

• Deployment models  • Service models  • Advanced cloud services  • Advanced cloud services 

1.2 Explain the factors that contribute to capacity planning. 

• Requirements  • Standard templates  • Licensing  • User density  • System load  • Trend analysis • Performance capacity planning 

1.3 Explain the importance of high availability and scaling in cloud environments.

• Hypervisors  • Oversubscription  • Regions and zones  • Regions and zones  • Containers  • Clusters  • Clusters  • Avoid single points of failure  • Scalability 

1.4 Given a scenario, analyze the solution design in support of the business requirements. 

• Requirement analysis  • Environments  • Testing techniques 

Domain - 2.0 Security 

Security is the most important domain of the Cloud+ certification exam, explaining major network and cloud environment concepts. These topics include configuring identity and access management, securing a network in a cloud environment, appropriate OS and security controls, and much more. The security domain makes up 20% of the questions in the Cloud+ exam. 

This domain is divided into the following six important categories:

2.1 Given a scenario, configure identity and access management. 

• Identification and authorization  • Directory services  • Federation  • Certificate management  • Multifactor authentication (MFA)  • Single sign-on (SSO)  • Public key infrastructure (PKI)  • Secret management  • Key management 

2.2 Given a scenario, secure a network in a cloud environment. 

• Network segmentation  • Protocols  • Network services  • Log and event monitoring  • Network flows  • Hardening and configuration changes 

2.3 Given a scenario, apply the appropriate OS and application security controls.

• Policies  • User permissions  • Antivirus/anti-malware/endpoint detection and response (EDR)  • Host-based IDS (HIDS)/ Host-based IPS (HIPS) • Hardened baselines  • File integrity  • Log and event monitoring  • Configuration management  • Builds  • Operating system (OS) upgrades  • Encryption  • Mandatory access control  • Software firewall 

2.4 Given a scenario, apply data security and compliance controls in cloud environments.

• Encryption  • Integrity  • Classification  • Segmentation  • Access control  • Impact of laws and regulations  • Records management  • Data loss prevention (DLP)  • Cloud access security broker (CASB) 

2.5 Given a scenario, implement measures to meet security requirements.

• Tools  • Vulnerability assessment  • Security patches  • Risk register  • Prioritization of patch application  • Deactivate default accounts  • Impacts of security tools on systems and services  • Effects of cloud service models on security implementation

2.6 Explain the importance of incident response procedures.

• Preparation  • Incident response procedures 

Domain - 3.0 Deployment 

Deployment, the third domain of the Cloud+ exam, shares the skills and knowledge required to deploy the application in a secure cloud environment. The topic includes integrating components into a cloud solution, provisioning storage in cloud environments, deploying cloud networking solutions, and more. The domain is accountable for 23% of the overall questions in the exam. 

This domain is divided into the following five major parts:

3.1 Given a scenario, integrate components into a cloud solution. 

• Subscription services  • Provisioning resources  • Application  • Deploying virtual machines (VMs) and custom images  • Templates • Identity management  • Containers  • Auto-scaling  • Post-deployment validation 

3.2 Given a scenario, provision storage in cloud environments. 

• Types  • Tiers  • Input/output operations per second (IOPS) and read/write • Protocols  • Redundant array of inexpensive disks (RAID)  • Storage system features  • User quotas  • Hyperconverged  • Software-defined storage (SDS) 

3.3 Given a scenario, deploy cloud networking solutions.  

• Services  • Virtual private networks (VPNs)  • Virtual routing  • Network appliances  • Network appliances  • VLAN/VXLAN/GENEVE  • Single root input/output virtualization (SR-IOV)  • Software-defined network (SDN)

3.4 Given a scenario, configure the appropriate compute sizing for a deployment.

• Virtualization  • Central processing unit (CPU)/ virtual CPU (vCPU) • Graphics processing unit (GPU)  • Clock speed/Instructions per cycle (IPC)  • Hyperconverged  • Memory 

3.5 Given a scenario, perform cloud migrations.

• Physical to virtual (P2V)  • Virtual to virtual (V2V)  • Cloud-to-cloud migrations • Storage migrations  • Database migrations 

Domain - 4.0 Operations and Support

Operations and Support, the fourth domain of the cloud+ exam, focus on the operations and support methods. In this domain, you will learn to configure logging, monitoring, and alerting to maintain operational status, optimize the cloud environments, perform appropriate backup and restore operations, and more. The domain takes up 22% of the questions in the Cloud+ exam, making it an important domain of the exam.

This domain covers six critical areas of operations and support in the Cloud+ exam:

4.1 Given a scenario, configure logging, monitoring, and alerting to maintain operational status. 

• Logging  • Monitoring  • Alerting 

4.2 Given a scenario, maintain efficient operation of a cloud environment. 

• Confirm completion of backups  • Life-cycle management  • Change management  • Asset management  • Patching  • Impacts of process improvements on systems  • Upgrade methods  • Dashboard and reporting 

4.3 Given a scenario, optimize cloud environments. 

• Right-sizing  • Compute  • Storage  • Network  • Placement  • Device drivers and firmware 

4.4 Given a scenario, apply proper automation and orchestration techniques.

• Infrastructure as code  • Continuous integration/ continuous deployment (CI/CD) • Version control  • Configuration management  • Containers  • Automation activities  • Secure scripting  • Orchestration sequencing 

4.5 Given a scenario, perform appropriate backup and restore operations. 

• Backup types  • Backup objects  • Backup targets  • Backup and restore policies  • Restoration methods 

4.6 Given a scenario, perform disaster recovery tasks. 

• Failovers • Failback • Restore backups • Replication • Network configurations • On-premises and cloud sites • Requirements  • Documentation  • Geographical data center requirements 

Domain - 5.0 Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting, the fifth and last domain of the CompTIA Cloud+ certification exam, focus on troubleshooting-related methods and concepts. These topics include troubleshooting methodology to resolve cloud-related issues, troubleshooting security, deployment, and connectivity issues on the go, and much more. The domain is accountable for 22% of the questions in the Cloud+ exam. 

The domain is divided into six important parts:

5.1 Given a scenario, use the troubleshooting methodology to resolve cloud-related issues.

• Always consider corporate policies, procedures, and impacts before implementing changes.

1. Identify the problem 
2. Establish a theory of probable cause (question the obvious)
3. Test the theory to determine the cause 
4. Establish a plan of action to resolve the problem and implement the solution
5. Verify full system functionality and, if applicable, implement preventive measures
6. Document the findings, actions, and outcomes throughout the process. 

5.2 Given a scenario, troubleshoot security issues.  

• Privilege  • Authentication  • Authorization  • Security groups  • Keys and certificates  • Misconfigured or misapplied policies  • Data security issues  • Exposed endpoints  • Misconfigured or failed security appliances  • Unsupported protocols  • External/internal attacks 

5.3 Given a scenario, troubleshoot deployment issues.  

• Connectivity issues  • Performance degradation  • Configurations  • Applications in containers  • Misconfigured templates  • Missing or incorrect tags  • Insufficient capacity  • Licensing issues  • Vendor-related issues 

5.4 Given a scenario, troubleshoot connectivity issues. 

• Network security group misconfigurations • Common networking configuration issues • Network troubleshooting tools 

5.5 Given a scenario, troubleshoot common performance issues. 

• Resource utilization  • Application  • Incorrectly configured or failed load balancing 

5.6 Given a scenario, troubleshoot automation or orchestration issues. 

• Account mismatches • Change management failures • Server name changes • IP address changes • Location changes • Version/feature mismatch • Automation tool incompatibility • Job validation issue • Patching failure