CompTIA Cloud+ Practice Test

What is the likely reason only one web server in an auto-scaling group is under high utilization while others remain idle?

1. The load balancer is misconfigured

2. The auto-scaling group is set up incorrectly

3. Only the high-utilization server is malfunctioning

4. Resource limits are exceeded on the other servers

The correct answer is: The load balancer is misconfigured

The situation in which only one web server in an auto-scaling group experiences high utilization while others remain idle can often be attributed to a misconfiguration of the load balancer. A load balancer's primary function is to distribute incoming network traffic evenly across multiple backend servers to ensure optimal resource utilization and prevent any single server from becoming a bottleneck. If the load balancer is not properly configured, it may direct all incoming requests to a specific server instead of distributing them across the available servers in the group. This could be due to a variety of reasons such as incorrect routing rules, session persistence settings, or health check failures that lead the load balancer to think that the other servers are unavailable or unsuitable for handling requests. The other potential answers involve scenarios that are less likely to be the direct cause of the observed behavior. For instance, if the auto-scaling group were set up incorrectly, it would typically affect the scaling decisions rather than result in one server being utilized while others are idle. Similarly, while resource limits being exceeded on the other servers could lead them to become non-operational, the scenario doesn't specifically indicate that they are facing resource constraints. Lastly, the option suggesting that only the high-utilization server is malfunctioning indicates a fault in