CompTIA Network+ Practice Test

Which of the following best describes Platform as a Service (PaaS)?

1. You manage everything including the hardware

2. Someone else handles the environment while you develop

3. You only focus on service maintenance

4. It is exclusively for mobile app development

The correct answer is: Someone else handles the environment while you develop

Platform as a Service (PaaS) is defined by the provision of a cloud environment where the service provider manages the underlying infrastructure, including servers, storage, networking, and operating systems, while you, as the developer, focus on creating, running, and managing applications. This arrangement allows developers to concentrate on their core tasks—developing and deploying applications—without the burden of dealing with hardware and additional infrastructure management issues. In contrast, managing everything, including hardware, is more characteristic of an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) model, where users have more control over the environment but also greater responsibility. Focusing solely on service maintenance would generally pertain to Software as a Service (SaaS) offerings, where the end-users manage their applications but rely on the provider for everything else. Lastly, asserting that PaaS is exclusively for mobile app development limits its scope, as PaaS can be used to develop applications for various platforms, including web and enterprise applications. Thus, the correct description accurately reflects the features and benefits of PaaS, allowing users to develop applications without the complexities of infrastructure management.