Test Your Web-scale IQ!
Web-scale IT is a better approach to designing, building and managing datacenter infrastructure pioneered by web companies such as Google, Amazon, and Facebook - and it's becoming rapidly relevant for the enterprise. What's your web-scale IQ? Take the short quiz to find out!
- 1.
What is your Twitter handle?
- 2.
What is your email address?
- 3.
Which of the following are NOT problems with traditional network-based storage?
- A.
Network performance bottlenecks as server resources are scaled and more applications come online
- B.
Storage managed with different granularity than VMs (e.g., LUNs, files)
- C.
Creates separately-managed resource silos because solutions are not versatile for a wide range of use cases
- D.
So simple to manage and troubleshoot that admins have free time to fill
Correct Answer
D. So simple to manage and troubleshoot that admins have free time to fillExplanation
The given answer suggests that traditional network-based storage is not simple to manage and troubleshoot, which contradicts the statement in the question. Traditional network-based storage often creates separately-managed resource silos, experiences network performance bottlenecks, and has storage managed with different granularity than VMs. However, it does not provide admins with free time to fill as it requires their attention and troubleshooting.Rate this question:
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- 4.
Which aspect of IT infrastructure does web-scale infrastructure simplify?
- A.
Buying
- B.
Deploying
- C.
Managing
- D.
Scaling
- E.
All of the above
Correct Answer
E. All of the aboveExplanation
Web-scale infrastructure simplifies all aspects of IT infrastructure, including scaling, managing, deploying, and buying. This means that it streamlines the process of increasing the capacity of the infrastructure to handle larger workloads, simplifies the management of the infrastructure components, makes it easier to deploy new applications and services, and reduces the complexity and cost of purchasing hardware and software. By simplifying all these aspects, web-scale infrastructure enables organizations to efficiently and effectively meet the demands of their growing digital operations.Rate this question:
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- 5.
Paxos is a:
- A.
Declarative model-based approach to IT automation
- B.
Protocol for solving consensus in a network of unreliable processors or participants
- C.
Centralized repository of configuration information
- D.
Microkernel operating system
Correct Answer
B. Protocol for solving consensus in a network of unreliable processors or participantsExplanation
Paxos is a protocol that is used to solve the consensus problem in a network where processors or participants may be unreliable. The consensus problem refers to the challenge of reaching an agreement among a group of participants on a single value or decision. Paxos ensures that all participants agree on a common value, even if some participants fail or behave unpredictably. It is commonly used in distributed systems to achieve fault-tolerance and reliability.Rate this question:
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- 6.
Cassandra is a:
- A.
Scalable, distributed no-SQL database built to run on commodity servers
- B.
Protocol for solving consensus in a network of unreliable processors
- C.
Beatles song
- D.
System for serializing structured data
Correct Answer
A. Scalable, distributed no-SQL database built to run on commodity serversExplanation
Cassandra is a scalable, distributed no-SQL database built to run on commodity servers. It is designed to handle large amounts of data across multiple servers, providing high availability and fault tolerance. Its distributed architecture allows it to scale horizontally by adding more servers to the cluster. It is a popular choice for applications that require high performance and fault tolerance, such as social media platforms and IoT systems.Rate this question:
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- 7.
Zookeeper is a:
- A.
XML-based build framework for software projects
- B.
Powerful monitoring system that enables proactive issue resolution
- C.
Service that provides centralized configuration, naming, and distributed synchronization in a clustered environment
- D.
Nickname for VCs who incubate wild ideas in the Silicon Valley
Correct Answer
C. Service that provides centralized configuration, naming, and distributed synchronization in a clustered environmentExplanation
Zookeeper is a service that provides centralized configuration, naming, and distributed synchronization in a clustered environment. It is a tool used for maintaining configuration information, naming, providing distributed synchronization, and providing group services. It allows distributed processes to coordinate with each other through a shared hierarchical namespace, enabling them to work together in a reliable and coordinated manner. Zookeeper is commonly used in distributed systems to ensure consistency and coordination among multiple nodes.Rate this question:
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- 8.
Protocol buffer is a:
- A.
Method for encoding structured data extensibly and efficiently
- B.
Next-generation WAN-optimization technique
- C.
Declarative model-based approach to IT automation
- D.
Distributed hash table to store (key, value) pairs
Correct Answer
A. Method for encoding structured data extensibly and efficientlyExplanation
Protocol buffer is a method for encoding structured data extensibly and efficiently. This means that it provides a way to serialize structured data into a compact binary format, which can then be easily transmitted or stored. It allows for efficient encoding and decoding of data, as well as the ability to add new fields or modify the data structure without breaking backward compatibility. This makes it a powerful tool for communication between different systems or languages, and for efficient storage and retrieval of data.Rate this question:
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- 9.
What is the typical ratio of admin to servers managed in web-scale datacenters?
- A.
1:65
- B.
1:450
- C.
1:1,000
- D.
1:10,000+
Correct Answer
D. 1:10,000+Explanation
Web-scale companies are able to achieve an order of magnitude better leverage of administrator effort through rich automation and powerful analytics.Rate this question:
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- 10.
Web-scale datacenters use extensive automation to achieve operational efficiency. TRUE/FALSE?
- A.
True
- B.
False
Correct Answer
A. TrueExplanation
One of the key characteristics of web-scale systems is the use of extensive API-based automation to achieve unparalleled leverage and enhanced operational efficiency, which lowers TCO.Rate this question:
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- 11.
The only way to get web-scale infrastructure in your datacenter is to build it yourself the way Facebook and Google do. TRUE/FALSE?
- A.
True
- B.
False
Correct Answer
B. FalseExplanation
When web-scale IT was getting started, the only way to get web-scale was to build it. But over the past few years, web-scale technologies have become more standardized. Enterprise customers can now buy enterprise-ready versions of Cassandra from companies like DataStax, or even turnkey converged infrastructure platforms that use web-scale tools and architectures internally from Nutanix.Rate this question:
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- 12.
Which of the following are NOT common traits found in web-scale datacenters?
- A.
Standard hardware components
- B.
Distributed, massively parallel software
- C.
Specialized, single-function hardware appliances
- D.
Maintaining data close to compute resources
Correct Answer
C. Specialized, single-function hardware appliancesExplanation
Rather than deploying special-purpose hardware appliances for different infrastructure functions, web companies use uniform x86-based hardware with hyper-converged compute and storage, and implement infrastructure functionality through software. This allows them to greatly simplify the infrastructure lifecycle.Rate this question:
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- 13.
Massive parallelism with a distributed scale-out architecture is essential to scale infrastructure without limits. TRUE/FALSE?
- A.
True
- B.
False
Correct Answer
A. TrueExplanation
In a scale-out architecture all data services need to be distributed across the cluster so that bottlenecks and resource contentions are eliminated.Rate this question:
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- 14.
Web-scale infrastructure is only relevant to web companies with millions of users and petabytes of data to store and manage. TRUE/FALSE?
- A.
True
- B.
False
Correct Answer
B. FalseExplanation
The benefits of web-scale infrastructure are relevant to companies at any scale. Web-scale infrastructure enables enterprises to respond to business needs quicker and scale rapidly on demand while keeping total costs down. Enterprises of all sizes care about these benefits, and can now get them without having to build infrastructure from scratch.Rate this question:
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- 15.
Which of the following are NOT benefits of web-scale infrastructure?
- A.
Eliminates the need for specialized IT skills
- B.
Eliminates islands of storage
- C.
Enables infrastructure elasticity and rapid growth
- D.
Delivers overall system resiliency by building hardware that does not fail
Correct Answer
D. Delivers overall system resiliency by building hardware that does not failExplanation
The given answer states that "Delivers overall system resiliency by building hardware that does not fail" is not a benefit of web-scale infrastructure. This means that web-scale infrastructure does not guarantee that the hardware will not fail and does not provide overall system resiliency.Rate this question:
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- 16.
It is not possible to achieve strict consistency in a scale-out system at large scale. TRUE/FALSE?
- A.
True
- B.
False
Correct Answer
B. FalseExplanation
Distributed consistency through consensus algorithms like Paxos allow strict consistency to be implemented at a cost that is independent of scale.Rate this question:
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- 17.
Getting the full benefit of web-scale infrastructure requires applications to be custom-built to use underlying infrastructure capabilities. TRUE/FALSE?
- A.
True
- B.
False
Correct Answer
B. FalseExplanation
Turnkey web-scale infrastructure solutions bring web-scale capabilities to the enterprise, allowing customers to run standard enterprise applications on them.Rate this question:
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Our quizzes are rigorously reviewed, monitored and continuously updated by our expert board to maintain accuracy, relevance, and timeliness.
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Current Version
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Mar 22, 2023Quiz Edited by
ProProfs Editorial Team -
Jun 17, 2014Quiz Created by
Nutanix
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