A company runs a steady-state production workload on a fixed number of m5.large EC2 instances in the us-east-1 region. The workload runs 24/7 and the instance type and region are not expected to change. The company wants to obtain the highest possible discount for this workload with a 3-year commitment. Which purchasing option should the company choose?
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.
Distractor review
Compute Savings Plan
Incorrect. Compute Savings Plans provide flexibility across EC2 instances, Fargate, and Lambda, but they offer the lowest discount among the options because of this flexibility.
Distractor review
EC2 Instance Savings Plan
Incorrect. EC2 Instance Savings Plans offer discounts for a specific instance family in a region, with flexibility across instance sizes within that family. However, Standard Reserved Instances offer a slightly higher discount for committing to a specific instance type.
Distractor review
Convertible Reserved Instances (3-year, All Upfront)
Incorrect. Convertible Reserved Instances allow you to change the instance family, which provides some flexibility but results in a lower discount compared to Standard Reserved Instances.
Best answer
Standard Reserved Instances (3-year, All Upfront)
Correct. Standard Reserved Instances with a 3-year term and All Upfront payment offer the highest possible discount for a fixed, predictable workload because they lock in a specific instance type and region with no flexibility.
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.
Related practice questions
Related CLF-C02 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
AWS shared responsibility model practice questions
Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to AWS shared responsibility model.
AWS Cloud Practitioner cloud concepts practice questions
Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to AWS Cloud Practitioner cloud concepts.
AWS IAM practice questions
Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to AWS IAM.
AWS pricing practice questions
Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to AWS pricing.
AWS support plans practice questions
Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to AWS support plans.
AWS S3 practice questions
Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to AWS S3.
AWS EC2 practice questions
Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to AWS EC2.
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: Standard Reserved Instances (3-year, All Upfront) — Standard Reserved Instances (RIs) offer the deepest discounts for a specific instance family (e.g., m5) in a specific region when you commit to a 1- or 3-year term. They are ideal for steady-state, predictable workloads that do not require flexibility. For a 3-year, all upfront payment, Standard RIs provide the highest discount among all purchasing options. EC2 Instance Savings Plans are similar but slightly less discounted because they allow flexibility in instance size within the same family in a region. Compute Savings Plans are the most flexible but offer the lowest discounts. Convertible RIs allow changing instance families but at a lower discount than Standard RIs.
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.
Discussion
Sign in to join the discussion.