Amazon Web Services · 2026 Edition
A complete preparation guide written by Amazon Web Services-certified engineers. Covers the exam format,all 4 blueprint domains, a week-by-week study plan, and proven tips for passing first time.
4–6 months
Prep time
Advanced
Difficulty
75
Exam questions
750/1000
Pass mark
Exam code
SAP-C02
Full name
AWS Solutions Architect Professional
Vendor
Amazon Web Services
Duration
170 minutes
Questions
75 items
Passing score
750/1000 (scaled)
Domains covered
4 blueprint domains
Recommended experience
AWS Solutions Architect Associate required; 2+ years of AWS architecture experience
Typical prep time
4–6 months
SAP-C02 earns the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional designation — the most prestigious AWS general architecture credential. It validates the ability to design complex, enterprise-scale AWS solutions that meet multi-constraint requirements.
Job roles this opens
Domain percentage weights are not currently available for this exam. The checklist below is still useful for planning your study.
Weeks 1–3
Organisational Complexity: multi-account design, AWS Organizations, Control Tower, landing zones
Tip: SAP-C02 emphasises multi-account architecture. Know the AWS Organizations service hierarchy (management account → OUs → member accounts), how SCPs restrict what member accounts can do (they do not grant permissions — they set maximum permissions), and how Control Tower automates landing zone setup with account vending.
Weeks 4–6
New Solutions Design: compute, storage, database, networking, caching at scale
Tip: SAP-C02 scenarios are long and include multiple constraints. Decompose each question: identify the primary driver (cost, availability, latency, compliance), then eliminate options that violate any hard constraint, then choose the option that best satisfies the primary driver among the remaining.
Weeks 7–9
Migration Planning: strategies (6 Rs), Database Migration Service, Server Migration Service, Migration Hub
Tip: AWS DMS (Database Migration Service) continuously replicates data with minimal downtime. Know the difference between homogeneous migration (Oracle to Oracle — DMS directly) and heterogeneous migration (Oracle to Aurora PostgreSQL — DMS + Schema Conversion Tool first). The SCT converts schema and stored procedures.
Weeks 10–15
Cost Control, Continuous Improvement: Reserved Instances, Savings Plans, architectural best practices
Tip: EC2 purchasing options tested in SAP-C02 cost scenarios: On-Demand (no commitment, highest cost), Reserved Instances (1- or 3-year commitment, significant discount, specific instance family/region), Savings Plans (more flexible, applies across EC2/Lambda/Fargate), Spot (up to 90% discount, can be interrupted). Know when each is appropriate.
SAP-C02 questions are significantly longer and more complex than associate-level questions. Practice reading long scenarios efficiently: identify the key requirements (SLA, RPO/RTO, cost budget, compliance) before reading the answer options.
Transit Gateway vs VPC Peering: Transit Gateway is a hub-and-spoke routing service that allows many-to-many connectivity across VPCs and on-premises networks with a single managed connection point. VPC Peering is point-to-point, does not support transitive routing, and does not scale to many VPCs. SAP-C02 scenarios with 'hundreds of VPCs' always point to Transit Gateway.
AWS Outposts brings native AWS infrastructure to on-premises data centres. Know when to recommend Outposts: low-latency requirements for on-premises applications, data residency requirements that prevent public cloud use, or hybrid workloads requiring consistent tooling.
Disaster recovery strategies by RTO/RPO from fastest to slowest: Multi-Site Active/Active (near-zero RTO/RPO, highest cost) → Warm Standby (minutes RTO) → Pilot Light (hours RTO, only core services running) → Backup and Restore (hours to days RTO, lowest cost).
SAP-C02 requires passing AWS Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) as a recommended (though not strictly required) prerequisite. Candidates who sit SAP-C02 without SAA-C03-level knowledge struggle significantly — ensure you have deep familiarity with core AWS services before attempting the professional exam.
Apply everything in this guide with adaptive practice questions, detailed answer explanations, and domain analytics.
Deep-dive explanations of the key topics tested on SAP-C02 — with exam key points and common misconceptions.