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100+ Free Alibaba ACA Cloud Computing Practice Questions

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Which characteristic best distinguishes cloud computing from traditional on-premises hosting?

A
B
C
D
to track
2026 Statistics

Key Facts: Alibaba ACA Cloud Computing Exam

50

Total Questions

Official ACA Cloud Computing exam page

90 min

Time Limit

Official ACA Cloud Computing exam page

80/100

Passing Score

Most commonly cited threshold

$120

Exam Fee

Official ACA Cloud Computing exam page

2 years

Certification Validity

Alibaba Cloud certification policy

ACA-Cloud1

Exam Code

Official certification portal

As of 2026, Alibaba Cloud lists the ACA Cloud Computing exam at 50 questions, 90 minutes, US$120, and a passing score of 80/100. Certification is valid for two years and is delivered online through edu.alibabacloud.com. The blueprint is dominated by ECS (instance families, lifecycle, billing, security groups, ESS) and VPC/SLB networking, with substantial coverage of OSS, ApsaraDB, RAM, KMS, Anti-DDoS, and CloudMonitor.

Sample Alibaba ACA Cloud Computing Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to test your Alibaba ACA Cloud Computing exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1Which characteristic best distinguishes cloud computing from traditional on-premises hosting?
A.Hardware is purchased upfront and depreciated over five years
B.Compute, storage, and network resources are delivered on demand and billed by usage
C.Workloads must run on a single physical machine you own
D.All capacity must be provisioned at peak forecast levels in advance
Explanation: Cloud computing delivers compute, storage, and network resources on demand over the internet with usage-based billing, removing the need to procure and depreciate fixed hardware. Alibaba Cloud's public cloud follows this same on-demand, pay-as-you-grow pattern.
2A startup wants to consume a finished CRM product without managing servers, runtimes, or upgrades. Which cloud service model fits best?
A.IaaS
B.PaaS
C.SaaS
D.On-premises hosting
Explanation: Software as a Service delivers a complete application that the user simply consumes; the provider handles infrastructure, runtime, and software updates. IaaS would still leave the customer to manage the application stack, and PaaS would still require building the application.
3ECS, OSS, VPC, and SLB are examples of which Alibaba Cloud service model?
A.SaaS
B.PaaS
C.IaaS
D.BPaaS
Explanation: Elastic Compute Service, Object Storage Service, Virtual Private Cloud, and Server Load Balancer are infrastructure building blocks that the customer assembles, configures, and operates. That is the textbook definition of Infrastructure as a Service.
4How does Alibaba Cloud define a Region versus an Availability Zone?
A.A Region and a Zone are the same physical building
B.A Region is a geographic area that contains one or more isolated data centers called Zones
C.A Zone spans multiple Regions for global redundancy
D.Zones are virtual constructs with no separate power or network
Explanation: An Alibaba Cloud Region is a physical geographic area, and each Region contains one or more Zones — independent data centers with their own power, cooling, and network. Deploying across Zones inside a Region is the standard pattern for high availability with low intra-Region latency.
5Which of the following is NOT one of the standard cloud deployment models?
A.Public cloud
B.Private cloud
C.Hybrid cloud
D.Symmetric cloud
Explanation: The widely used deployment models are public, private, hybrid, and sometimes community. 'Symmetric cloud' is not a recognized deployment model. Alibaba Cloud's Apsara Stack supports private and hybrid scenarios alongside the public cloud.
6An online game studio wants its CDN edge nodes to be as close as possible to players in different countries. Which Alibaba Cloud infrastructure component is most relevant?
A.Availability Zones
B.Regions
C.Edge nodes / Points of Presence
D.RAM groups
Explanation: Alibaba Cloud CDN uses a global network of edge nodes (PoPs) so static and streaming content can be served from a location near each end user. Regions and Zones host origin workloads, but edge nodes are what minimize last-mile latency.
7True or false: Deploying ECS instances in two Availability Zones inside the same Region protects you from a Region-wide outage.
A.True, multi-Zone equals multi-Region for disaster recovery
B.False — multi-Zone protects against single-data-center failures, but a Region-wide event can still affect all Zones in that Region
C.True, but only for paid Anti-DDoS Premium customers
D.False — Zones are not isolated from each other
Explanation: Zones inside a Region are isolated facilities and protect against single-data-center failures, but they share a geographic Region. For protection against a Region-wide event such as a major natural disaster, you need a multi-Region architecture.
8A customer asks who is responsible for patching the underlying hypervisor on Alibaba Cloud ECS. What is the correct answer under the shared responsibility model?
A.The customer must patch the hypervisor
B.Alibaba Cloud is responsible for the security and patching of the underlying hypervisor and physical hosts
C.Patching the hypervisor is optional
D.Hypervisors do not need patching
Explanation: Under the shared responsibility model, Alibaba Cloud secures the cloud (physical hosts, hypervisor, foundational network), while customers secure what they put in the cloud (operating system, application, data, identity, and configuration).
9Which scenario is the strongest fit for a hybrid cloud deployment?
A.A net-new mobile-only consumer app with no existing infrastructure
B.A regulated enterprise that must keep certain data on-premises but wants burst capacity and managed services from Alibaba Cloud
C.A hobby project with one developer and minimal traffic
D.An offline-only desktop application
Explanation: Hybrid cloud combines on-premises infrastructure with public cloud services, which is exactly what regulated enterprises need when some data or systems must stay on-prem but the business still wants elastic compute, managed databases, and global reach.
10What is the primary economic benefit a company gains by migrating from on-premises servers to Alibaba Cloud ECS?
A.Eliminating all software license costs
B.Shifting heavy upfront capital expenditure (CapEx) to a flexible operating expenditure (OpEx) model that scales with usage
C.Removing the need to monitor any infrastructure
D.Guaranteeing zero downtime forever
Explanation: The headline economic shift is CapEx to OpEx: instead of buying servers years ahead of demand, the business pays for what it uses. License costs, monitoring, and downtime still need to be managed, just in different ways.

About the Alibaba ACA Cloud Computing Exam

The Alibaba Cloud Certified Associate (ACA) Cloud Computing exam (ACA-Cloud1) validates foundational mastery of Alibaba Cloud's IaaS portfolio: Elastic Compute Service (ECS), Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), Server Load Balancer (SLB / ALB / NLB), Auto Scaling (ESS), Object Storage Service (OSS), block storage, ApsaraDB, RAM identity, KMS, Anti-DDoS, CloudMonitor, and the global Region/Zone/edge-node architecture. The exam favors practical service-selection judgment over rote definitions.

Assessment

50 mixed single-choice, multiple-choice, and true/false items

Time Limit

90 minutes

Passing Score

80/100 (some regional listings reference a 70% benchmark)

Exam Fee

$120 (Alibaba Cloud)

Alibaba ACA Cloud Computing Exam Content Outline

~12%

Cloud Fundamentals & Global Infrastructure

Cloud computing definition, IaaS/PaaS/SaaS service models, public/private/hybrid deployment models, and the Alibaba Cloud Region, Availability Zone, and edge-node hierarchy.

~25%

ECS Elastic Compute Service

Instance families (entry-level, general-purpose, compute-optimized, memory-optimized, big-data, local-SSD, GPU/heterogeneous), lifecycle, image types, billing modes (Subscription, Pay-As-You-Go, Spot/Preemptible, Savings Plans), Security Groups, tags, and Auto Scaling (ESS).

~20%

VPC, SLB & Hybrid Connectivity

VPC CIDR design, vSwitches, route tables, NAT Gateway, EIP, IPv6 Gateway, VPC Peering, Cloud Enterprise Network (CEN), VPN Gateway, Express Connect, and Server Load Balancer in ALB (layer-7), NLB (layer-4), and CLB form factors with listeners, server groups, health checks, and scheduling algorithms.

~17%

Storage & CDN

OSS storage classes (Standard, IA, Archive, Cold Archive), lifecycle rules, cross-region replication, presigned URLs, OSS Transfer Acceleration, ESSD performance levels (PL0-PL3), Ultra/SSD cloud disks, snapshots, NAS file storage, and Alibaba Cloud CDN.

~10%

Database Services

ApsaraDB RDS (MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, MariaDB), PolarDB cloud-native (MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle-compatible), Tair (Redis-compatible), and ApsaraDB for MongoDB.

~16%

Security, Monitoring & Billing

RAM users/groups/roles/policies, MFA, Instance RAM Roles, KMS encryption, Anti-DDoS Basic/Pro/Premium, WAF, Cloud Firewall, ActionTrail audit logs, CloudMonitor metrics and alerts, SLS Log Service, and master account vs. RAM user billing structure.

How to Pass the Alibaba ACA Cloud Computing Exam

What You Need to Know

  • Passing score: 80/100 (some regional listings reference a 70% benchmark)
  • Assessment: 50 mixed single-choice, multiple-choice, and true/false items
  • Time limit: 90 minutes
  • Exam fee: $120

Keys to Passing

  • Complete 500+ practice questions
  • Score 80%+ consistently before scheduling
  • Focus on highest-weighted sections
  • Use our AI tutor for tough concepts

Alibaba ACA Cloud Computing Study Tips from Top Performers

1Spend the most time on ECS and VPC, because they account for roughly half of the exam — instance families, lifecycle, billing modes, Security Groups, vSwitches, route tables, NAT Gateway, EIP, and SLB show up across many questions.
2Memorize the letter conventions for ECS instance families: c=compute, g=general, r=memory (RAM), d=big-data, i=local SSD, gn=GPU/heterogeneous, t=burstable, ebm=bare-metal.
3Practice picking the right billing model for the workload: Subscription for steady production, Pay-As-You-Go for variable workloads, Spot/Preemptible for fault-tolerant batch, Savings Plans for committed multi-family spend.
4Know which network construct lives in which scope: a VPC is Region-wide, a vSwitch is in exactly one Zone, route tables can be customized per vSwitch, and Cloud Enterprise Network (CEN) is the recommended cross-Region interconnect.
5Map OSS storage classes to access patterns: Standard for hot data, IA for monthly-ish access, Archive for compliance with minute-scale restore, Cold Archive for very rare access with hour-scale restore.
6Treat RAM as a first-class topic: master account vs. RAM users, MFA, least-privilege policies, and Instance RAM Roles with STS credentials are recurring exam targets.
7Use the free tier to launch one ECS, one VPC with two vSwitches in two Zones, one SLB, one OSS bucket, and one RDS instance — practical familiarity beats memorization for the scenario questions.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many questions are on the Alibaba Cloud ACA Cloud Computing exam?

The Alibaba Cloud Certified Associate (ACA) Cloud Computing exam contains 50 questions delivered in mixed formats: single-choice, multiple-choice, and true/false. The total time limit is 90 minutes.

What is the passing score?

The most commonly cited passing standard is 80 out of 100. Some regional listings phrase this as 70%, so confirm the exact threshold on the official certification page when you register.

How much does the ACA Cloud Computing exam cost?

The exam fee is US$120 per attempt. Retakes are charged at the same rate, and there are no free retake vouchers.

How long is the certification valid?

ACA Cloud Computing certification is valid for two years from the date you pass. To maintain certified status, you must recertify before the validity period ends.

Where do I register and take the exam?

You register and take the exam online via Alibaba Cloud's certification portal at edu.alibabacloud.com/certification/aca_cloudcomputing. The exam is delivered through Alibaba Cloud Academy with online proctoring.

Do I need hands-on Alibaba Cloud experience?

Hands-on experience is strongly recommended but not required. The free tier is enough to practice the core services covered on the exam: ECS, VPC, OSS, RDS, RAM, and CloudMonitor.

Which topics are most heavily weighted?

ECS is the largest single block, with VPC and Server Load Balancer making up the second-largest cluster. Together they typically account for close to half of the exam, followed by OSS and storage, then security/identity/monitoring, then databases.