Which cloud service model provides hardware and virtualization resources managed by the provider, with the consumer controlling operating systems and applications?

• A. PaaS
• B. IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)
• C. SaaS
• D. DaaS

Answer: (B)

In this model the provider takes care of the physical hardware and the virtualization layer that sits underneath the computing resources. You, as the consumer, control and manage the operating system, any middleware you choose, and your applications running on top of those resources. The provider handles provisioning, scaling, and maintenance of the underlying infrastructure, including servers, storage, and the virtualization software.

This setup distinguishes it from other models: in a platform-centric model, more of the runtime and middleware is managed by the provider, reducing your control over the OS; in a software-focused model, you use applications delivered over the internet with minimal OS management; and in desktop-as-a-service, the emphasis is on delivering virtual desktops to users. The description given—provider-managed hardware and virtualization with the consumer controlling operating systems and applications—maps to IaaS.