Question 748 of 988
CLF-C02 Cloud Technology and Services Practice Question
A development team wants to deploy a containerized microservices application on AWS. The team wants to minimize operational overhead by not managing any servers or container orchestration control plane. They also want to pay only for the compute and memory resources their containers consume, without needing to provision or scale underlying infrastructure. Which AWS compute service should the team use?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse AWS Fargate with AWS Lambda, assuming both are 'serverless' for containers, but Lambda is for functions with strict execution limits and runtime constraints, while Fargate is the true serverless compute engine for containers that supports long-running processes and full Docker images.
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 ECS with the AWS Fargate launch type
Amazon ECS with the AWS Fargate launch type is the correct choice because Fargate is a serverless compute engine that removes the need to manage servers or the container orchestration control plane. With Fargate, you define your containerized microservices and pay only for the vCPU and memory resources consumed at the task level, without provisioning or scaling underlying EC2 instances. This directly meets the team's requirement for zero operational overhead and pay-per-consumption 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.
- ✗
Amazon EC2 with Amazon ECS using the EC2 launch type
Why it's wrong here
With the EC2 launch type, you manage a cluster of EC2 instances that host your containers. You are responsible for patching, scaling, and capacity planning of these instances, which does not meet the requirement to avoid managing servers.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question specified that the team has existing EC2 instances to utilize, needs to optimize costs for predictable workloads, or requires full control over the underlying infrastructure for compliance or performance tuning.
- ✗
AWS Elastic Beanstalk with a Docker platform
Why it's wrong here
Elastic Beanstalk abstracts some infrastructure management but still runs your Docker containers on EC2 instances that you pay for even when idle. It does not provide serverless container pricing and still involves managing the underlying instances (though automated).
When this WOULD be correct
A team wants to deploy a Docker-based application with minimal configuration, but they are willing to manage the underlying EC2 instances for cost optimization or to have full control over the environment. They also need built-in auto-scaling and load balancing without managing the container orchestration layer directly.
- ✓
Amazon ECS with the AWS Fargate launch type
Why this is correct
Fargate is a serverless compute engine for containers. You define your task definitions, and Fargate runs the containers on shared, AWS-managed infrastructure. No servers to manage, and you pay only for the vCPU and memory resources consumed by your running tasks.
- ✗
AWS Lambda
Why it's wrong here
Lambda is designed for running code in response to events, not for hosting containerized microservices. While Lambda now supports packaging code as container images, it is optimized for short-running, event-driven functions, not long-running microservices with features like service discovery and health checks.
When this WOULD be correct
A question asking for a serverless compute service to run code in response to events (e.g., S3 uploads, API Gateway requests) with automatic scaling and pay-per-execution pricing, where the code is packaged as a container image and execution time is under 15 minutes.
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.
✓Amazon ECS with the AWS Fargate launch typeCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
Fargate is a serverless compute engine for containers. You define your task definitions, and Fargate runs the containers on shared, AWS-managed infrastructure. No servers to manage, and you pay only for the vCPU and memory resources consumed by your running tasks.
✗Amazon EC2 with Amazon ECS using the EC2 launch typeWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Amazon EC2 with ECS EC2 launch type requires managing EC2 instances and the container orchestration control plane, contradicting the requirement to minimize operational overhead and not manage servers.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question specified that the team has existing EC2 instances to utilize, needs to optimize costs for predictable workloads, or requires full control over the underlying infrastructure for compliance or performance tuning.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may associate ECS with containers and overlook the distinction between EC2 and Fargate launch types, assuming ECS inherently abstracts server management.
✗AWS Elastic Beanstalk with a Docker platformWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
AWS Elastic Beanstalk with a Docker platform still requires managing underlying EC2 instances or a container orchestration control plane, and it does not offer the per-container billing model that Fargate provides.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A team wants to deploy a Docker-based application with minimal configuration, but they are willing to manage the underlying EC2 instances for cost optimization or to have full control over the environment. They also need built-in auto-scaling and load balancing without managing the container orchestration layer directly.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think Elastic Beanstalk abstracts away all infrastructure management, but it still involves provisioning and managing EC2 instances, which contradicts the 'no servers' requirement in the question.
✗AWS LambdaWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
AWS Lambda is designed for short-running, event-driven functions, not for containerized microservices that require long-running processes or stateful workloads. It also has limitations on execution time (15 minutes max) and container image size, making it unsuitable for general containerized applications.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A question asking for a serverless compute service to run code in response to events (e.g., S3 uploads, API Gateway requests) with automatic scaling and pay-per-execution pricing, where the code is packaged as a container image and execution time is under 15 minutes.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse 'serverless' with 'no server management' and assume Lambda can run any containerized app, overlooking its execution duration and stateless nature constraints.
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?”
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
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Same concept, more angles
2 more ways this is tested on CLF-C02
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company wants to run containerized applications without managing the underlying EC2 instances or clusters. Which AWS service enables this?
medium- A.Amazon EC2 with Docker installed
- B.Amazon ECS on EC2
- ✓ C.AWS Fargate
- D.AWS Lambda
Why C: AWS Fargate is a serverless compute engine for containers that allows you to run containerized applications without managing the underlying EC2 instances or clusters. You define your task definitions and Fargate automatically provisions and scales the compute infrastructure, abstracting away the need to handle instance patching, capacity planning, or cluster management.
Variation 2. Which AWS service enables you to run containerized applications without managing the underlying servers?
easy- A.Amazon EC2 with Docker
- ✓ B.AWS Fargate
- C.AWS Lambda
- D.Amazon EKS on EC2
Why B: AWS Fargate is a serverless compute engine for containers that allows you to run containers without managing the underlying servers or clusters. You define your container images, CPU, memory, and networking, and Fargate automatically handles the infrastructure, including patching and scaling.
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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