CLF-C02 Cloud Technology and Services Practice Question
A company hosts its corporate website entirely as static content (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images) in an Amazon S3 bucket. The website currently has no authentication requirements and is accessible to the public. The company wants to serve this content to users around the world with low latency. Additionally, the company wants to enforce HTTPS for all traffic using a custom domain name (www.example.com). The company does not want to manage SSL/TLS certificates on any servers. Which AWS service should the company use to meet these requirements?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse S3 Transfer Acceleration (which only accelerates uploads) with CloudFront (which accelerates downloads and caches content), or they think Global Accelerator can serve static content with HTTPS, but it lacks caching and certificate management at the edge.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Amazon CloudFront
Amazon CloudFront is a content delivery network (CDN) that caches static content at edge locations worldwide, reducing latency for global users. It supports custom domain names and can enforce HTTPS by using AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) to provision and renew SSL/TLS certificates automatically, eliminating the need for server-side certificate management. CloudFront integrates directly with an S3 bucket as the origin, allowing the bucket to remain private while serving content securely via HTTPS.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Amazon CloudFront
Why this is correct
Amazon CloudFront is a global content delivery network (CDN) that caches static content at edge locations, reducing latency. It integrates with ACM for free SSL/TLS certificates, supports custom domain names, and enforces HTTPS. This meets all the requirements without any server management.
- ✗
AWS Global Accelerator
Why it's wrong here
AWS Global Accelerator improves performance for TCP/UDP traffic by routing users to the nearest healthy endpoint using static IP addresses. However, it does not cache content; it simply optimizes the network path. It is not designed for serving static web content from edge locations, and it does not provide HTTPS termination with custom domain names by itself.
When this WOULD be correct
A company runs a multi-region application behind an Application Load Balancer and needs to improve global latency and provide a static IP address for whitelisting, while also using AWS Shield for DDoS protection. Global Accelerator would be the correct choice.
- ✗
Amazon S3 Transfer Acceleration
Why it's wrong here
Amazon S3 Transfer Acceleration speeds up uploads to S3 buckets by using edge locations. It is not designed for downloading or serving content to end users. Since the company already has all content in S3 and wants to serve it globally, Transfer Acceleration does not address low-latency downloads or HTTPS enforcement with custom domains.
When this WOULD be correct
A company needs to upload large files (e.g., videos, backups) to an S3 bucket from geographically distributed clients and wants to minimize upload latency. The question would specify that the requirement is about accelerating uploads, not serving content to users.
- ✗
AWS Lambda@Edge
Why it's wrong here
Lambda@Edge allows you to run code at CloudFront edge locations in response to events. It is a compute service, not a content delivery service. While it can be used in conjunction with CloudFront, it alone cannot serve static content or manage HTTPS. The company needs a CDN, not just compute at the edge.
When this WOULD be correct
A company uses CloudFront to deliver a web application and needs to modify HTTP headers or perform URL redirects based on user location or device type. Lambda@Edge would be the correct service to run such custom logic at edge locations without managing servers.
Option-by-option analysis
Why each answer is right or wrong
Understanding why wrong answers are wrong — and when they would be correct — is what separates a 750 score from a 900. The CLF-C02 exam frequently reuses these exact scenarios with slightly different constraints.
✓Amazon CloudFrontCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
Amazon CloudFront is a global content delivery network (CDN) that caches static content at edge locations, reducing latency. It integrates with ACM for free SSL/TLS certificates, supports custom domain names, and enforces HTTPS. This meets all the requirements without any server management.
✗AWS Global AcceleratorWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
AWS Global Accelerator improves availability and performance for TCP/UDP traffic but does not provide content caching at edge locations or enforce HTTPS with custom SSL certificates; it also cannot serve static content directly from S3 with low latency via caching.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company runs a multi-region application behind an Application Load Balancer and needs to improve global latency and provide a static IP address for whitelisting, while also using AWS Shield for DDoS protection. Global Accelerator would be the correct choice.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse Global Accelerator's edge location IP anycast for low-latency delivery with CloudFront's content caching and HTTPS termination capabilities, assuming both serve similar purposes for static content.
✗Amazon S3 Transfer AccelerationWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Amazon S3 Transfer Acceleration speeds up uploads to S3, not content delivery to end users. It does not provide HTTPS enforcement for custom domains or low-latency global distribution of static content.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company needs to upload large files (e.g., videos, backups) to an S3 bucket from geographically distributed clients and wants to minimize upload latency. The question would specify that the requirement is about accelerating uploads, not serving content to users.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse 'acceleration' with content delivery, assuming Transfer Acceleration can serve content faster globally, but it only optimizes the upload path to S3, not the download path to users.
✗AWS Lambda@EdgeWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Lambda@Edge is used to run custom code at CloudFront edge locations, but it does not serve static content or enforce HTTPS on its own. The question requires serving static content with low latency and HTTPS, which CloudFront provides natively without needing Lambda@Edge.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company uses CloudFront to deliver a web application and needs to modify HTTP headers or perform URL redirects based on user location or device type. Lambda@Edge would be the correct service to run such custom logic at edge locations without managing servers.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think Lambda@Edge can handle HTTPS termination or content delivery because it runs at edge locations, but it is an add-on for custom logic, not a primary content delivery or HTTPS solution.
Analysis generated from the official CLF-C02blueprint and verified against question context. The “when correct” sections are what AI assistants cite when candidates ask “what’s the difference between these options?”
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
Go deeper
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About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every CLF-C02 question from scratch — 988 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CLF-C02 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CLF-C02 exam.