Question 1mediummultiple choice
Full question →mediummultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A company manages multiple AWS accounts using AWS Organizations. The company has an on-premises Microsoft Active Directory (AD) that contains employee credentials and group memberships. The company wants to grant employees access to the AWS Management Console and command-line interface (CLI) using their existing AD credentials, without creating IAM users for each employee. Additionally, the company wants to centrally manage permissions across all accounts by assigning policies to AD groups. Which AWS service should the company use to meet these requirements?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
A
Distractor review
AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM)
IAM is used for managing users and permissions within a single AWS account. It does not natively federate with an external identity provider to provide cross-account SSO, and it requires creating IAM users, which does not meet the requirement to use existing AD credentials without creating separate users.
B
Distractor review
AWS Directory Service for Microsoft Active Directory
AWS Directory Service for Microsoft AD sets up a managed Active Directory in the AWS cloud. While it can be used as an identity source, it does not by itself provide the cross-account SSO or permission management across multiple AWS accounts that the company needs. An additional service like IAM Identity Center is required for that.
C
Best answer
AWS IAM Identity Center (AWS Single Sign-On)
IAM Identity Center is the correct service for this use case. It connects to an existing identity provider (such as on-premises Active Directory), enables single sign-on to the AWS Management Console and CLI, and centrally manages permissions across all accounts in AWS Organizations by assigning permission sets to groups.
D
Distractor review
AWS Resource Access Manager (AWS RAM)
AWS RAM allows you to share AWS resources such as subnets or Route 53 rules across accounts. It does not handle user identity, authentication, or permissions management, so it cannot provide SSO or centrally manage user access to accounts.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
- Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
- Underline the problem statement mentally.
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
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More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
A developer needs to launch a test server for a new application prototype. The developer logs into the AWS Management Console, selects an Amazon EC2 instance type, configures the security group, and starts the instance. The instance is running within two minutes, and the developer did not need to submit a formal request to the company's IT procurement team or wait for approval from a cloud administrator. Which essential characteristic of cloud computing does this scenario best demonstrate?
Question 2
A solutions architect is planning a new web application on AWS. The workload will include 3 Amazon EC2 instances (t3.medium) running 24/7, an Application Load Balancer, and an Amazon RDS for MySQL db.t3.small database. The architect needs to estimate the monthly cost for the first year, considering different purchasing options (On-Demand, 1-year All Upfront Reserved Instance, and Compute Savings Plan). Which AWS tool should the architect use to create this estimate?
Question 3
A company's development team frequently needs temporary test environments. A developer can log into the AWS Management Console, select an Amazon EC2 instance type, configure storage, and launch the instance within minutes without any interaction with the IT infrastructure team. This capability is an example of which essential characteristic of cloud computing?
Question 4
A company's finance team needs to analyze AWS spending in detail. They require a report that includes hourly cost data for each AWS service, each individual resource (e.g., a specific EC2 instance), and any cost allocation tags applied. The team plans to export this data to an Amazon S3 bucket and then import it into a custom business intelligence (BI) analytics dashboard. Which AWS tool should the finance team use to generate this level of detailed cost data?
Question 5
A company uses AWS for its development environment. The finance team wants to set a monthly budget of $10,000. They want to receive an email notification when the actual costs reach 80% of the budget ($8,000) and again when costs exceed the budget. The team needs a managed AWS service that can automatically send these alerts without requiring custom code or third-party tools. Which AWS service should the team use?
Question 6
A company uses AWS Organizations to manage multiple accounts. The security team needs to enforce a policy that restricts SSH access (port 22) from the internet (0.0.0.0/0) in all VPCs across all accounts. The team wants to centrally define the allowed rules and automatically apply them to newly created VPCs and security groups, while also automatically remediating any existing non-compliant security groups. Which AWS service should the team use?
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this CLF-C02 question test?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: AWS IAM Identity Center (AWS Single Sign-On) — AWS IAM Identity Center (formerly AWS Single Sign-On) is the service designed to centrally manage access to multiple AWS accounts and business applications. It integrates with external identity providers such as Microsoft Active Directory, allowing users to sign in with their corporate credentials. Permission sets can be created and assigned to groups, providing fine-grained access control across all accounts in an AWS Organization without the need to create individual IAM users.
What should I do if I get this CLF-C02 question wrong?
Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.
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