Question #757
An organization has migrated its web application to AWS, hosting it on Amazon EC2 instances. Which cost is the organization directly responsible for?
Cost of the underlying EC2 instance hardware
Cost of cooling systems in AWS data centers
Cost of the web application's third-party middleware licenses
Cost of physical server maintenance at AWS facilities
Explanation
The correct answer is C. According to the AWS Shared Responsibility Model, AWS manages the infrastructure, including the underlying EC2 instance hardware (A), cooling systems (B), and physical server maintenance (D). These costs are part of AWS's operational expenses, covered by the customer's usage fees. However, the customer retains responsibility for software and data they deploy on AWS, including third-party middleware licenses (C). Customers must ensure proper licensing for any third-party software installed on EC2 instances, as AWS does not provide or manage these licenses. Key points to remember: AWS handles 'security of the cloud' (physical infrastructure), while customers manage 'security in the cloud' (applications, data, and software licenses).
Answer
The correct answer is: C