The answer is AWS Elastic Beanstalk. This Platform as a Service (PaaS) solution is the correct choice because it allows you to deploy a web app without managing infrastructure, automatically provisioning and configuring the underlying EC2 instances, load balancers, auto-scaling groups, operating system, and runtime environment—such as Java, Python, or Node.js—so you only need to upload your application code and configuration. On the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner CLF-C02 exam, this question tests your understanding of the shared responsibility model and the distinction between PaaS and IaaS; a common trap is confusing Elastic Beanstalk with AWS OpsWorks or EC2 directly, but remember that Elastic Beanstalk abstracts away all infrastructure management. For a quick memory tip, think of Elastic Beanstalk as “elastic” because it automatically scales your app, and “beanstalk” as the platform that lifts your code off the ground—you just bring the code, and AWS handles the rest.
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 wants to deploy a web application and have AWS handle the infrastructure, OS, and runtime — they only want to manage the application code and configuration. Which AWS service provides this experience?
Why wrong: EC2 is Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) — developers must manage the OS, runtime, patching, and configuration.
B
AWS Elastic Beanstalk
Elastic Beanstalk is PaaS — developers provide the application code and Beanstalk handles provisioning, scaling, load balancing, and health monitoring automatically.
C
AWS Lambda
Why wrong: Lambda is Function-as-a-Service — it's even more abstracted than Beanstalk but requires re-architecting applications into functions, not deploying existing web apps as-is.
D
Amazon ECS
Why wrong: ECS manages container orchestration but still requires defining task definitions and managing container configuration — more infrastructure involvement than Beanstalk.
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 a Platform as a Service (PaaS) offering that automatically handles the provisioning of underlying infrastructure (EC2 instances, load balancers, auto-scaling groups), the operating system, and the runtime environment (e.g., Java, Python, Node.js). The customer only needs to upload their application code and configuration, and Elastic Beanstalk manages the deployment, capacity provisioning, load balancing, and health monitoring, matching the requirement exactly.
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 EC2
Why it's wrong here
EC2 is Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) — developers must manage the OS, runtime, patching, and configuration.
✓
AWS Elastic Beanstalk
Why this is correct
Elastic Beanstalk is PaaS — developers provide the application code and Beanstalk handles provisioning, scaling, load balancing, and health monitoring automatically.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
AWS Lambda
Why it's wrong here
Lambda is Function-as-a-Service — it's even more abstracted than Beanstalk but requires re-architecting applications into functions, not deploying existing web apps as-is.
✗
Amazon ECS
Why it's wrong here
ECS manages container orchestration but still requires defining task definitions and managing container configuration — more infrastructure involvement than Beanstalk.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse AWS Elastic Beanstalk with AWS Lambda, thinking both are 'serverless' — but Elastic Beanstalk is a PaaS that runs on provisioned servers (EC2 instances), while Lambda is truly serverless and event-driven, making Lambda unsuitable for hosting a full web application with persistent runtime requirements.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Elastic Beanstalk uses a pre-configured Docker container or a platform-specific AMI to provide the runtime environment, and it integrates with CloudFormation under the hood to provision resources like an Application Load Balancer (ALB) and an Auto Scaling group. A subtle behavior is that Elastic Beanstalk supports custom platform extensions via `.ebextensions` configuration files, allowing customers to override default settings without losing the managed experience. In a real-world scenario, a startup deploying a Python Flask app can simply zip their code and upload it, and Elastic Beanstalk will automatically set up an Apache/NGINX reverse proxy, manage SSL termination via ACM, and handle blue/green deployments.
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 cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this CLF-C02 question in full detail.
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: AWS Elastic Beanstalk — AWS Elastic Beanstalk is a Platform as a Service (PaaS) offering that automatically handles the provisioning of underlying infrastructure (EC2 instances, load balancers, auto-scaling groups), the operating system, and the runtime environment (e.g., Java, Python, Node.js). The customer only needs to upload their application code and configuration, and Elastic Beanstalk manages the deployment, capacity provisioning, load balancing, and health monitoring, matching the requirement exactly.
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.
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Question Discussion
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