CLF-C02 Cloud Technology and Services Practice Question
A company runs a data processing job once per month. The job takes approximately 3 hours to complete when run on a single server. The company wants to minimize operational overhead and pay only for the compute time used during the job. The job does not require user interaction and must be able to automatically retry if a task fails. Which AWS service should the company use?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates choose AWS Lambda for its serverless and pay-per-use model, overlooking the hard 15-minute execution limit that makes it unsuitable for long-running batch jobs.
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
✓
AWS Batch
AWS Batch is designed for batch computing workloads that run to completion without user interaction. It automatically provisions the necessary compute resources (e.g., EC2 instances or Fargate), scales them to zero when idle, and provides built-in retry logic for failed tasks. This matches the requirement of a monthly 3-hour job with minimal operational overhead and pay-per-use billing.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
AWS Lambda
Why it's wrong here
AWS Lambda has a hard maximum execution timeout of 15 minutes per invocation, so a 3-hour data processing job would time out before completing. Lambda is also designed for short, event-driven, stateless functions—not long-running or synchronous batch workloads—and its pricing model charges per 1ms of execution, making it unsuitable and cost-ineffective for sustained multi-hour processing.
When this WOULD be correct
A company needs to run a short-duration data processing task (under 15 minutes) triggered by an S3 upload, with no server management and automatic retries on failure. Lambda would be the correct answer.
- ✓
AWS Batch
Why this is correct
Correct. AWS Batch is a fully managed service that enables you to run batch computing workloads of any scale. It automatically provisions compute resources (e.g., Amazon EC2 instances or AWS Fargate), schedules jobs, and retries failed tasks. You only pay for the compute resources consumed, and there is no need to manage underlying servers.
- ✗
Amazon EC2
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Running the job on Amazon EC2 would require you to launch and manage an instance, install the necessary software, and ensure the instance is running only during the job. You would need to start and stop the instance manually or set up automation. This approach incurs operational overhead and risk of paying for idle time if the instance is not terminated promptly.
When this WOULD be correct
A company needs to run a custom, long-running application (e.g., a legacy monolithic app) that requires full control over the operating system and software configuration, and the job must run continuously or on a fixed schedule without needing automatic retries or batch orchestration.
- ✗
AWS Elastic Beanstalk
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. AWS Elastic Beanstalk is a platform-as-a-service (PaaS) used to deploy and scale web applications and services. It is not designed for running batch jobs. Elastic Beanstalk manages capacity provisioning, load balancing, and auto-scaling for web applications, but it does not provide job scheduling or retry logic needed for batch processing.
When this WOULD be correct
A company needs to deploy a web application with automatic scaling, load balancing, and health monitoring, and wants to minimize operational overhead without managing the underlying infrastructure. The application requires user interaction and runs continuously.
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.
✓AWS BatchCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
Correct. AWS Batch is a fully managed service that enables you to run batch computing workloads of any scale. It automatically provisions compute resources (e.g., Amazon EC2 instances or AWS Fargate), schedules jobs, and retries failed tasks. You only pay for the compute resources consumed, and there is no need to manage underlying servers.
✗AWS LambdaWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
AWS Lambda has a maximum execution timeout of 15 minutes, but the job takes 3 hours, so it cannot run on Lambda. Additionally, Lambda is not designed for long-running batch jobs.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company needs to run a short-duration data processing task (under 15 minutes) triggered by an S3 upload, with no server management and automatic retries on failure. Lambda would be the correct answer.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think Lambda is serverless and pay-per-use, which matches the cost and operational overhead requirements, but overlook the 15-minute timeout limit.
✗Amazon EC2Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Amazon EC2 requires manual provisioning, scaling, and management of servers, which increases operational overhead. It does not automatically retry failed tasks or provide a managed batch scheduling service, making it unsuitable for a monthly job that needs minimal overhead and automatic retries.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company needs to run a custom, long-running application (e.g., a legacy monolithic app) that requires full control over the operating system and software configuration, and the job must run continuously or on a fixed schedule without needing automatic retries or batch orchestration.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think EC2 is the most flexible option for any compute job, overlooking the requirement for minimal operational overhead and automatic retries, which EC2 does not natively provide.
✗AWS Elastic BeanstalkWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
AWS Elastic Beanstalk is a PaaS service for deploying and scaling web applications, not designed for batch jobs that require automatic retries on failure. It abstracts infrastructure but does not natively support job scheduling, retry logic, or pay-per-compute-time for non-interactive workloads.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company needs to deploy a web application with automatic scaling, load balancing, and health monitoring, and wants to minimize operational overhead without managing the underlying infrastructure. The application requires user interaction and runs continuously.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think Elastic Beanstalk reduces operational overhead and can run any workload, but they overlook that it is optimized for web apps, not batch processing with retry capabilities.
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?”
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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.