DVA-C02 Deployment Practice Test 21 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A team is using AWS CodePipeline with multiple stages: Source, Build, Test, and Deploy. The Deploy stage uses AWS CodeDeploy to deploy to an EC2 Auto Scaling group. The pipeline runs successfully, but the application still serves the old version. What is the most likely cause?

Choose an answer to begin — your selection is scored in the full session.

Accepted Answer

The CodeDeploy deployment group is associated with a different Auto Scaling group than the one serving traffic.. The most likely cause is that the CodeDeploy deployment group is associated with a different Auto Scaling group than the one actually serving traffic. Even though the pipeline runs successfully, CodeDeploy deploys the new application revision only to instances in the Auto Scaling group linked to its deployment group. If the deployment group targets a different Auto Scaling group (e.g., a staging group) while the live traffic is served by another group (e.g., production), the old version remains on the production instances.

Answer

The load balancer's target group is not pointing to the correct instances.

Answer

The build artifact in the Source stage is corrupted.

Answer

The CodeBuild stage failed silently and did not produce a new artifact.

Question 2

A developer is deploying an application using AWS CloudFormation. The stack includes an Amazon RDS DB instance. To ensure secure credential management, which TWO actions should the developer take? (Choose TWO.)

Accepted Answer

Use AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store with a SecureString parameter for the password.. AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store with a SecureString parameter is correct because it allows you to securely store the RDS master password as an encrypted parameter and reference it in the CloudFormation template using the `resolve:ssm` or `resolve:ssm-secure` dynamic reference. This avoids hardcoding the password in the template or exposing it in plaintext, while still enabling automated deployment.

Answer

Hardcode the master password in the CloudFormation template.

Answer

Use IAM database authentication to manage credentials.

Answer

Leave the master password empty so that CloudFormation generates a random password.

Question 3

A company is implementing a CI/CD pipeline for a containerized application using Amazon ECS and AWS CodePipeline. The team wants to ensure zero-downtime deployments. Which THREE strategies should the team implement? (Choose THREE.)

Accepted Answer

Use a blue/green deployment strategy with an Application Load Balancer.. Option A is correct because a blue/green deployment with an Application Load Balancer lets CodeDeploy shift traffic from the original ECS task set to the new (green) task set only after the new tasks pass health checks, and it can roll back instantly if validation fails, so users never hit a failed deployment. Option C is correct because ECS service auto scaling keeps the desired task count at the level the service needs during and after deployment, ensuring enough healthy tasks remain registered with the load balancer to absorb traffic while replacements are being launched. Option D is correct because the health check grace period prevents ECS from killing newly started tasks before they have finished booting and begun responding to ALB health checks, avoiding false unhealthy verdicts that would otherwise cause task churn and downtime. Option B is not appropriate because a rolling update with a batch size of 100% replaces all tasks at once, which removes all healthy capacity simultaneously and can cause an outage. Option E is not appropriate because stopping all existing tasks before starting new ones creates a hard outage, directly violating the zero-downtime requirement.

Answer

Use a rolling update with a fixed batch size of 100% of tasks.

Answer

Stop all existing tasks before starting new tasks.

Question 4

A developer is using AWS SAM to deploy a serverless application. The developer wants to enable canary deployments for the Lambda function. Which TWO resources must be configured in the SAM template? (Choose TWO.)

Accepted Answer

DeploymentPreference property on the AWS::Serverless::Function resource.. Option A is correct because the DeploymentPreference property on the AWS::Serverless::Function resource is what tells SAM to perform a canary (or linear/all-at-once) deployment, specifying the deployment type, the alias, and the CloudWatch alarms that trigger rollback. Option B is correct because AutoPublishAlias is required for SAM to create and publish a Lambda alias (e.g., 'live') that the canary deployment shifts traffic to; without a published alias, DeploymentPreference cannot route weighted traffic between versions. Option C is not required for canary deployments since CodeUri simply specifies the function's code location and is unrelated to traffic shifting. Option D is not required because an event source mapping only connects the function to a stream/queue and has nothing to do with canary traffic routing. Option E is not required because SAM automatically creates the alias and its routing configuration when AutoPublishAlias and DeploymentPreference are set, so the developer does not need to define an alias resource manually.

Answer

The function's CodeUri property pointing to the deployment package.

Answer

An event source mapping for the function.

Answer

The function's alias resource with a routing configuration.

Question 5

A developer needs to deploy a new version of a Lambda function that uses environment variables for database credentials. Which AWS service should be used to securely store and retrieve the credentials?

Accepted Answer

AWS Secrets Manager. AWS Secrets Manager is the best choice because it is designed specifically for securely storing secrets like database credentials and offers automatic rotation. Option C (AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store) can store secrets but lacks automatic rotation and is not as feature-rich for secret management. Option A (DynamoDB) and Option B (S3) are not intended for secret storage and lack native secret management capabilities such as rotation and fine-grained access control for secrets.

Answer

Amazon DynamoDB with encryption at rest

Answer

Amazon S3 with server-side encryption

Answer

AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store

Question 6

A company uses CodePipeline to deploy a web application to Elastic Beanstalk. The deployment fails at the Build stage with an error 'BUILD FAILED'. Which step should the developer take first to troubleshoot?

Accepted Answer

Review the buildspec.yml file for syntax errors. The error 'BUILD FAILED' originates from the Build stage, which is executed by CodeBuild. The first step in troubleshooting a CodeBuild failure is to review the buildspec.yml file for syntax errors or misconfigurations, as this file defines the build commands, environment variables, and phases. Incorrect YAML formatting, missing required fields (e.g., 'phases'), or invalid commands will cause the build to fail immediately, making it the most direct and logical starting point.

Answer

Verify the CodeDeploy application revision

Answer

Examine the Elastic Beanstalk environment logs

Answer

Check AWS CloudTrail for API calls

Question 7

Which TWO actions should a developer take to minimize downtime when deploying a new version of a production application running on Amazon ECS with Fargate?

Accepted Answer

Configure the ECS service to use a blue/green deployment with CodeDeploy. Blue/green deployments with AWS CodeDeploy allow you to create a new 'green' environment alongside the existing 'blue' environment, route traffic gradually, and instantly roll back if issues arise. This minimizes downtime by ensuring the old version remains fully available until the new version passes health checks and traffic is fully shifted.

Answer

Delete the existing service and recreate it with the new task definition

Answer

Update the target group health check settings to a more lenient threshold

Answer

Stop all running tasks and then start new tasks with the updated image

Question 8

A developer is deploying a serverless application using AWS SAM. The application includes an API Gateway endpoint backed by a Lambda function. The developer wants to enable canary deployments to shift 10% of traffic to the new version for 5 minutes before routing all traffic. Which configuration should the developer add to the SAM template?

Accepted Answer

DeploymentPreference with Type: Canary10Percent5Minutes. The `DeploymentPreference` property with `Type: Canary10Percent5Minutes` instructs AWS SAM to use AWS CodeDeploy to shift 10% of traffic to the new Lambda version for 5 minutes, then automatically route the remaining 90% after the canary period ends. This matches the requirement exactly, leveraging SAM's built-in integration with CodeDeploy for canary deployments.

Answer

Add a CodeDeploy application and deployment group manually

Answer

DeploymentPreference with Type: Linear10PercentEvery1Minute

Answer

DeploymentPreference with Type: AllAtOnce

Question 9

A company uses AWS CodeCommit for source control. A developer needs to automate the build and test process for every commit to the 'develop' branch. The developer creates a CodeBuild project and wants to trigger it automatically. What is the most efficient way to set up this automation?

Accepted Answer

Create a CodePipeline with a source stage from CodeCommit and a build stage from CodeBuild. AWS CodePipeline is the most efficient and fully managed way to orchestrate a continuous integration workflow. It natively integrates CodeCommit as a source action that automatically detects changes on the specified branch (e.g., 'develop') and triggers a CodeBuild build stage without any custom scripting or additional infrastructure. This provides built-in retry, status tracking, and seamless integration with other AWS services.

Answer

Create a CloudWatch Events rule that triggers CodeBuild on code commit events

Answer

Configure a webhook in CodeCommit to call CodeBuild directly

Answer

Use an SQS queue to receive SNS notifications from CodeCommit and trigger CodeBuild

Question 10

Which THREE factors should a developer consider when choosing between a blue/green deployment and a rolling deployment for an Amazon ECS service?

Accepted Answer

Rolling deployments update a subset of tasks at a time, which may cause slower rollback. Rolling deployments in Amazon ECS update a subset of tasks at a time, which means if a rollback is needed, the deployment must reverse the updates incrementally, potentially taking longer than a blue/green deployment where traffic can be switched back instantly. This slower rollback is a key trade-off when choosing between the two strategies.

Answer

Rolling deployments require manual intervention to rollback

Answer

Blue/green deployments are always cheaper than rolling deployments

Question 11

A developer wants to deploy a static website to AWS. The website consists of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files. Which combination of services provides the most cost-effective and scalable solution?

Accepted Answer

Amazon S3 and Amazon CloudFront. Amazon S3 can host static websites, and CloudFront provides CDN for low latency and scalability. Option A is correct. Option B (EC2) is more expensive and requires management. Option C (Elastic Beanstalk) is overkill. Option D (Lightsail) is a VPS but not as scalable for static content.

Answer

Amazon Lightsail

Answer

Amazon EC2 and Application Load Balancer

Answer

AWS Elastic Beanstalk

Question 12

Which TWO approaches can a developer use to automate the deployment of a microservices application to Amazon ECS with Fargate, ensuring that each microservice is independently deployable and can scale based on demand?

Accepted Answer

Define each microservice as a separate ECS service with its own task definition. Defining each microservice as a separate ECS service with its own task definition allows independent deployment, scaling, and lifecycle management. Each service can be updated, rolled back, or scaled based on its own demand without affecting other microservices, which aligns with microservices architecture principles.

Answer

Define all microservices in a single task definition and run them as one service

Answer

Use a single ECS service with multiple containers per task definition

Answer

Use a single CodePipeline that builds all microservices together

Question 13

A developer is deploying a new version of a Lambda function using the AWS CLI. The developer wants to shift 10% of traffic to the new version and then gradually increase to 100% over 10 minutes. Which CLI command should the developer use?

Accepted Answer

aws lambda update-alias --function-name my-function --name prod --function-version 2 --routing-config AdditionalVersionWeights={"1":0.9}. The `update-alias` command with the `--routing-config` parameter allows you to implement canary deployments by assigning a percentage of traffic to a new Lambda function version. In this case, `AdditionalVersionWeights={"1":0.9}` routes 10% of traffic to version 2 (the new version) and 90% to version 1. However, note that this command only sets a static routing configuration; to gradually increase traffic to 100% over 10 minutes, you must update the alias multiple times (e.g., via a script) to adjust the weights progressively. The command shown is the correct initial step to start the canary deployment.

Answer

aws lambda publish-version --function-name my-function

Answer

aws lambda create-function --function-name my-function --zip-file fileb://my-code.zip

Answer

aws lambda invoke --function-name my-function --payload '{}'

Question 14

A developer needs to deploy a containerized application on AWS. The application requires persistent storage that can be shared across multiple containers running on different EC2 instances. Which AWS service should the developer use?

Accepted Answer

Amazon Elastic File System (EFS). Amazon EFS provides a fully managed, scalable, and elastic NFS file system that can be mounted concurrently on multiple EC2 instances across different Availability Zones. This makes it the ideal choice for shared persistent storage when containers running on separate EC2 instances need to access the same data simultaneously.

Answer

Amazon S3

Answer

Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS)

Answer

Amazon RDS

Question 15

Which THREE steps should a developer include in a CI/CD pipeline to deploy a serverless application using AWS SAM? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

Run 'sam build' to prepare the application. Option A is correct because 'sam build' compiles dependencies and prepares the application artifacts in the .aws-sam/build directory, which is the required first step before packaging or deploying a SAM application. Option C is correct because 'sam deploy' creates or updates the CloudFormation stack that provisions the serverless resources (Lambda functions, API Gateway, IAM roles, etc.) defined in the SAM template. Option E is correct because 'sam package' uploads the built artifacts to an S3 bucket and rewrites the template with the S3 locations, which is necessary for CloudFormation to access the code during deployment (in newer SAM CLI versions this is handled automatically by 'sam deploy --guided', but 'sam package' remains the explicit packaging step). Option B is incorrect because API Gateway stages are defined declaratively in the SAM template and created automatically by CloudFormation during deployment, not configured manually. Option D is incorrect because traffic shifting via Lambda aliases is an optional deployment preference configured in the SAM template (e.g., DeploymentPreference with Canary/Linear), not a manual 'aws lambda update-alias' command in the pipeline.

Answer

Manually configure API Gateway stages

Answer

Run 'aws lambda update-alias' to shift traffic