A company runs a containerized application on Amazon ECS using a mix of Amazon EC2 On-Demand instances from different instance families (e.g., M5, C5, R5). The workload is consistent, and the company is willing to commit to a 1-year term to reduce costs. However, the team expects to change instance families within the next 12 months due to new hardware requirements and wants the flexibility to switch instance families without incurring a financial penalty. Which pricing option best meets 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.
Best answer
Compute Savings Plans
Correct. Compute Savings Plans apply to any EC2 instance usage across any region (when scoped to region), regardless of instance family, and provide the flexibility to change instance families without any penalty, while offering substantial discounts over On-Demand pricing.
Distractor review
EC2 Instance Savings Plans
Incorrect. EC2 Instance Savings Plans are locked to a specific instance family in a specific region. They do not allow changing instance families without losing the discount, making them unsuitable for the described requirement of switching instance families.
Distractor review
Convertible Reserved Instances
Incorrect. Convertible Reserved Instances allow you to change the instance attribute (including instance family) but require an exchange process that may have constraints and typically offer lower discounts than Standard RIs or Savings Plans. They are less flexible than Compute Savings Plans for frequent or rapid changes.
Distractor review
Standard Reserved Instances
Incorrect. Standard Reserved Instances are locked to a specific instance type and region for the duration of the term. They do not allow any changes to instance family, so they cannot meet the requirement of switching families during the contract period.
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: Compute Savings Plans — Compute Savings Plans offer the greatest flexibility among the options, allowing changes to instance family, size, OS, tenancy, and region (within a region scope) while still providing significant discounts over On-Demand pricing. This flexibility makes them ideal for workloads that use a mix of instance families or may need to change instance families over the commitment term. EC2 Instance Savings Plans are more restrictive (fixed to a specific instance family in a region), and Convertible RIs allow changes but require an exchange process and typically provide less discount flexibility for changing families dynamically. Standard RIs are completely locked to a specific instance type and region.
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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