Question 133 of 988
CLF-C02 Cloud Technology and Services Practice Question
A company's development team has written a Python web application using the Flask framework. The team wants to deploy the application to the AWS Cloud without managing the underlying servers, operating system, or web server software. They want AWS to automatically handle the deployment, from provisioning EC2 instances to configuring the web server and load balancer, and to scale the application based on traffic. They also want the ability to upload new code versions directly from their Git repository. Which AWS service should the team use?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse AWS Elastic Beanstalk with AWS CloudFormation, assuming both are 'automation' services, but CloudFormation requires explicit resource definitions and does not automatically configure the web server or deploy application code.
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 Elastic Beanstalk
AWS Elastic Beanstalk is the correct choice because it is a Platform as a Service (PaaS) offering that automatically handles the deployment, capacity provisioning, load balancing, and auto-scaling of web applications. The team can upload code directly from a Git repository using the EB CLI or integrated CodePipeline, and Elastic Beanstalk manages the underlying EC2 instances, operating system, and web server (e.g., Apache or Nginx) without requiring manual intervention.
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 Elastic Beanstalk
Why this is correct
AWS Elastic Beanstalk is correct because it is a PaaS service that automatically provisions the underlying infrastructure (EC2 instances, load balancer, scaling policies), deploys the application, manages the web server, and supports Git-based deployment workflows.
- ✗
AWS CloudFormation
Why it's wrong here
AWS CloudFormation is an infrastructure-as-code service that allows you to define and provision AWS resources, but it does not automatically manage the application deployment, web server configuration, or scaling. You would need to manually specify all resources and configure the deployment process.
When this WOULD be correct
A company needs to deploy a multi-tier application with strict compliance requirements, where they must define and version-control every infrastructure resource (e.g., VPC, subnets, security groups) and manage dependencies between them. They want to use a template to provision the entire stack consistently across environments.
- ✗
Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling
Why it's wrong here
Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling only manages the automatic scaling of EC2 instance groups based on conditions. It does not deploy the application code, configure web servers, or set up load balancers. It is a component of the infrastructure, not a full deployment and management service.
When this WOULD be correct
A company has an existing application running on EC2 instances behind a load balancer and needs to automatically adjust the number of instances based on CPU utilization or a schedule, without managing deployment or environment setup.
- ✗
AWS CodeDeploy
Why it's wrong here
AWS CodeDeploy automates code deployments to existing compute instances (EC2, on-premises, or Lambda), but it does not provision the infrastructure or handle the initial setup of the web server, load balancer, or scaling. The team would still need to manage the underlying servers.
When this WOULD be correct
A company already has EC2 instances managed by an Auto Scaling group and wants to automate the deployment of new application versions from a Git repository to those instances with minimal downtime. CodeDeploy would be the correct choice for the deployment automation step.
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 Elastic BeanstalkCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
AWS Elastic Beanstalk is correct because it is a PaaS service that automatically provisions the underlying infrastructure (EC2 instances, load balancer, scaling policies), deploys the application, manages the web server, and supports Git-based deployment workflows.
✗AWS CloudFormationWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
AWS CloudFormation is an Infrastructure as Code service for provisioning and managing AWS resources, but it does not automatically handle application deployment, web server configuration, or scaling based on traffic. The team would need to manually define and manage all resources, including EC2 instances, load balancers, and scaling policies.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company needs to deploy a multi-tier application with strict compliance requirements, where they must define and version-control every infrastructure resource (e.g., VPC, subnets, security groups) and manage dependencies between them. They want to use a template to provision the entire stack consistently across environments.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse CloudFormation's ability to provision resources with Elastic Beanstalk's managed platform, thinking that CloudFormation can also handle the application deployment and scaling automatically, but it requires manual configuration for those tasks.
✗Amazon EC2 Auto ScalingWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling only manages scaling EC2 instances based on demand; it does not handle deployment, provisioning, web server configuration, or load balancer setup, nor does it integrate with Git for code uploads.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company has an existing application running on EC2 instances behind a load balancer and needs to automatically adjust the number of instances based on CPU utilization or a schedule, without managing deployment or environment setup.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think Auto Scaling covers the full deployment and management needs because it automates scaling, but they overlook that it does not provision or configure the application environment.
✗AWS CodeDeployWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
AWS CodeDeploy automates code deployment to existing compute instances, but does not provision servers, configure web servers, or manage scaling. The question requires a fully managed platform that handles provisioning, configuration, and scaling automatically, which is beyond CodeDeploy's scope.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company already has EC2 instances managed by an Auto Scaling group and wants to automate the deployment of new application versions from a Git repository to those instances with minimal downtime. CodeDeploy would be the correct choice for the deployment automation step.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse CodeDeploy's deployment automation with the broader platform management capabilities of Elastic Beanstalk, especially since both can integrate with Git repositories for code uploads.
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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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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