IPA FE Subject A 2026 Question 4
A question IPA Japan published in 令和８年度 基本情報技術者試験 科目A 公開問題 問4, translated into English. ITPEC is based on the same exams.
Which of the following is a description of PaaS as a service model of cloud computing?
Explanation
Middleware for developing and running applications is provided, and the platform cannot be changed directly — PaaS supplies a ready platform on which users build and run their own applications.
The cloud service models differ in how much the provider supplies:
- •IaaS: processing, storage and network resources; the user installs and runs any software, the OS included, and has limited control over the platform
- •PaaS: the OS, middleware and the development and runtime environment; the user develops and operates their own applications on it but cannot change the platform itself
- •SaaS: the finished application; the user uses it as it is or customizes it
Answer (b)
Why not others:
- •(a) — resources that run any software including the OS, with limited control over the OS and other platform settings, describe IaaS
- •(c) — the user providing the hardware, OS and applications and only asking for their operation is outsourced operation (housing), not a cloud service model
- •(d) — using a ready-made application as it is or customized, with nothing to prepare from the platform up, is SaaS
Key rule: Count the layers the provider supplies: IaaS stops at the infrastructure, PaaS adds the OS and middleware, and SaaS adds the application itself.
System Strategy · AI-written, may contain errors
This question comes from the past questions IPA Japan publishes, translated into English by ITPEC Practice. ITPEC Practice is an independent study tool and is not affiliated with IPA or ITPEC. See the original paper (PDF) or Report an issue.