- A
Amazon Elastic File System (EFS)
Correct. Amazon EFS provides a fully managed NFS file system that can be mounted on multiple EC2 instances across multiple Availability Zones simultaneously. It scales automatically and is designed for high availability and durability, making it ideal for shared file access.
- B
Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS)
Why wrong: Incorrect. An Amazon EBS volume is a block-level storage device that can only be attached to a single EC2 instance (except for the limited Multi-Attach capability on some volume types, which is not intended for general concurrent file sharing and has strict constraints). It cannot serve as a shared file system across multiple instances in different Availability Zones.
- C
Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3)
Why wrong: Incorrect. Amazon S3 is an object storage service designed for storing and retrieving large amounts of data via HTTP/HTTPS. It does not provide a file-system interface or support for standard file-level locking required for concurrent access by multiple EC2 instances as a shared file system.
- D
Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)
Why wrong: Incorrect. Amazon RDS is a managed service for setting up, operating, and scaling relational databases. It is not a file storage solution and cannot be used to share configuration files or static assets among EC2 instances.
CLF-C02 Cloud Technology and Services Practice Question
This CLF-C02 practice question tests your understanding of cloud technology and services. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company runs a web application across multiple Amazon EC2 instances that are distributed across several Availability Zones. The application needs to share a common set of configuration files and static assets that must be accessible concurrently and consistently from all instances. The company wants a fully managed, scalable file storage solution that does not require provisioning or managing underlying storage hardware. Which AWS service should the company use?
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 Elastic File System (EFS)
Amazon EFS provides a fully managed, scalable, and shared file system that can be mounted concurrently by multiple EC2 instances across different Availability Zones. It uses the NFSv4.1 protocol, ensuring consistent access to configuration files and static assets without any provisioning or management of underlying storage hardware.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
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 Elastic File System (EFS)
Why this is correct
Correct. Amazon EFS provides a fully managed NFS file system that can be mounted on multiple EC2 instances across multiple Availability Zones simultaneously. It scales automatically and is designed for high availability and durability, making it ideal for shared file access.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS)
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. An Amazon EBS volume is a block-level storage device that can only be attached to a single EC2 instance (except for the limited Multi-Attach capability on some volume types, which is not intended for general concurrent file sharing and has strict constraints). It cannot serve as a shared file system across multiple instances in different Availability Zones.
- ✗
Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3)
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Amazon S3 is an object storage service designed for storing and retrieving large amounts of data via HTTP/HTTPS. It does not provide a file-system interface or support for standard file-level locking required for concurrent access by multiple EC2 instances as a shared file system.
- ✗
Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Amazon RDS is a managed service for setting up, operating, and scaling relational databases. It is not a file storage solution and cannot be used to share configuration files or static assets among EC2 instances.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Amazon S3's object storage capabilities with a shared file system, overlooking that S3 does not support POSIX file locking or concurrent mount-based access required for shared configuration files across EC2 instances.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
EFS implements a distributed file system using the NFSv4.1 protocol, which supports file locking and consistency semantics across multiple clients. Under the hood, EFS data is stored across multiple Availability Zones within a region, and the service automatically scales storage capacity up and down as files are added or removed, eliminating the need for capacity planning. In a real-world scenario, a web application using EFS for shared configuration can update a config file on one instance, and all other instances will see the change immediately due to the strong consistency model of EFS.
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.
TExam Day Tips
- 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.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this CLF-C02 question test?
Cloud Technology and Services — This question tests Cloud Technology and Services — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) — Amazon EFS provides a fully managed, scalable, and shared file system that can be mounted concurrently by multiple EC2 instances across different Availability Zones. It uses the NFSv4.1 protocol, ensuring consistent access to configuration files and static assets without any provisioning or management of underlying storage hardware.
What should I do if I get this CLF-C02 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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.
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