OVHcloud Associate study plan

Explain the difference between a bare metal server and a VPS in terms of resource isolation, virtualization layer, and billing model, writing a one-paragraph comparison without notes.

Map the OVHcloud bare metal server ranges to their target workloads (general purpose, high CPU, high memory, GPU, storage-dense) and justify two picks for given scenarios.

Describe the VPS ranges and their scaling limits, then identify the upgrade path from VPS to bare metal for a growing workload.

Outline the bare metal ordering-to-delivery lifecycle: configuration options, OS installation methods (including custom images and PXE), and rescue mode purpose.

Configure storage layout options on a bare metal server (RAID levels, disk partitioning schemes, encryption) and state the trade-off of each in terms of redundancy and usable capacity.

Explain the difference between block, object, and file storage in OVHcloud and match three workload examples to the correct type.

Describe Object Storage behaviour: buckets, S3 compatibility, access policies, versioning, and lifecycle rules, and predict the outcome of two given policy configurations.

Set up a backup routine that snapshots a VPS and backs up a bare metal server to Object Storage, and verify a restore works.

Distinguish snapshot, backup, and replication in OVHcloud storage services and identify which protects against accidental deletion, which against full-site loss, and which against hardware failure.

Explain the backup storage offerings (including vaulted/immutable backup concepts and retention policies) and design a retention schedule meeting a stated recovery point and recovery time objective.

Calculate the cost and retention implications of a given backup policy across 30, 90, and 365 days, and recommend an adjustment.

Describe how to restore at different granularities (single file, whole volume, whole server) and list the steps in order.

Explain OVHcloud public IP addressing, failover IPs, and additional IP blocks, and describe how a failover IP is moved between servers.

Describe the vRack private network: what it connects, how it differs from the public network, and how VLANs and IP ranges are assigned within it.

Configure a load balancer in front of two backend servers and explain health checks, session persistence, and TLS termination choices.

Explain DNS management in OVHcloud (zones, record types, TTL, anycast) and predict how a TTL change affects propagation.

Describe the network security layers available: anti-DDoS protection, firewall/security groups, and network ACLs, and state which layer mitigates which attack type.

Explain how security groups and firewall rules are evaluated (default deny vs default allow, rule ordering) and predict the effect of two rule sets on given traffic.

Outline identity and access management concepts: users, roles, permissions, API keys, and two-factor authentication, and describe least-privilege setup for a team of three.

Describe operational tooling: monitoring, alerting, audit logs, and the API/CLI, and explain how to trace who changed a resource.

Explain the Public Cloud model: projects, regions, availability zones, quotas, and pay-as-you-go billing, and contrast it with bare metal and VPS.

Map Public Cloud compute instance types to workloads and describe how to resize, snapshot, and rebuild an instance.

Describe managed services in Public Cloud (managed databases, Kubernetes, container registry, object storage) and select the right one for three scenarios.

Explain Public Cloud networking: private networks, floating IPs, security groups, and gateways, and describe how a floating IP differs from a failover IP.

Explain Hosted Private Cloud: dedicated hardware, virtualization layer, and how it differs from Public Cloud in tenancy and management responsibility.

Describe the components of a Hosted Private Cloud environment (virtual data centres, clusters, hosts, datastores, virtual machines) and the operations available on each.

Explain the shared responsibility model across bare metal, Public Cloud, and Hosted Private Cloud, stating who manages what in each.

Describe operations practices: change management, incident response, and using support/status channels, and outline what to include in an escalation.

Review weak areas identified in earlier weeks and rewrite notes for the three domains with the lowest practice scores.

Complete timed practice sets covering all six domains and record scores per domain to confirm the heaviest domains are strongest.

Re-explain from memory the top ten cross-domain distinctions (bare metal vs VPS vs Public Cloud vs Hosted Private Cloud; snapshot vs backup vs replication; failover IP vs floating IP; security group vs firewall).

Build a one-page final review sheet of numbers, limits, and defaults you keep forgetting.