CompTIA Cloud+ Practice Test

What can help reduce swap file usage in a cloud environment?

1. Increasing disk space

2. Adding extra memory

3. Upgrading software

4. Reducing application load

The correct answer is: Adding extra memory

Adding extra memory can significantly reduce swap file usage in a cloud environment. When a system runs low on physical RAM, it uses the swap file as a temporary storage area to hold data that would ordinarily be kept in memory. This process can lead to performance issues because accessing data from the swap file (which is located on disk) is much slower than accessing it from RAM. By increasing the amount of physical memory available to the system, the need to rely on the swap file decreases, allowing applications to run more efficiently and improving overall system performance. Increasing disk space, upgrading software, and reducing application load may have their own benefits in certain contexts, but they do not directly impact swap file usage. Disk space primarily pertains to storage capacities, software upgrades might improve efficiency but do not address RAM limitations, and reducing application load could help with resource management but is not as effective as simply increasing memory. Thus, adding extra memory is the most direct and effective way to alleviate swap file reliance.