- A
Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling
Why wrong: Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling automatically adjusts the number of EC2 instances based on demand, but it does not handle code deployment, load balancer creation, or platform configuration. You would still need to manually set up these components, which does not meet the requirement of minimal operational overhead.
- B
AWS Elastic Beanstalk
AWS Elastic Beanstalk is a fully managed service that automatically handles the deployment, capacity provisioning, load balancing, and auto-scaling of applications. Simply upload your WAR file and Elastic Beanstalk manages the underlying infrastructure, making it the ideal choice for this scenario.
- C
AWS OpsWorks
Why wrong: AWS OpsWorks is a configuration management service that uses Chef or Puppet to manage infrastructure as code. While it can automate server configuration, it requires more setup and is not specifically designed for simple code upload and automatic scaling of a web application.
- D
Amazon Lightsail
Why wrong: Amazon Lightsail provides simplified virtual private server (VPS) instances with predictable pricing, but it does not offer automatic scaling or managed load balancing. You would need to manually handle scaling and load balancing, which does not meet the requirement for minimal operational overhead.
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 is migrating its legacy Java web application to AWS. The application consists of a stateless web tier that receives HTTP traffic. The company wants to minimize operational overhead. The development team wants to simply upload a WAR file and have AWS automatically handle the deployment, capacity provisioning, load balancing, and auto-scaling based on traffic. The team does not want to manage the underlying EC2 instances or configure the load balancer manually. Which AWS service should the company use?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"minimum / minimize"Why it matters: Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
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 provides a Platform as a Service (PaaS) offering that automatically handles deployment, capacity provisioning, load balancing, and auto-scaling for Java web applications. The team can simply upload a WAR file, and Elastic Beanstalk manages the underlying EC2 instances and Application Load Balancer (ALB) without requiring manual configuration. This directly meets the requirement to minimize operational overhead while supporting stateless web tiers.
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 Auto Scaling
Why it's wrong here
Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling automatically adjusts the number of EC2 instances based on demand, but it does not handle code deployment, load balancer creation, or platform configuration. You would still need to manually set up these components, which does not meet the requirement of minimal operational overhead.
When this WOULD be correct
An exam scenario where the company already has EC2 instances configured with a load balancer and just needs to automatically adjust the number of instances based on traffic metrics (e.g., CPU utilization). The question would specify that deployment and load balancer setup are already handled separately.
- ✓
AWS Elastic Beanstalk
Why this is correct
AWS Elastic Beanstalk is a fully managed service that automatically handles the deployment, capacity provisioning, load balancing, and auto-scaling of applications. Simply upload your WAR file and Elastic Beanstalk manages the underlying infrastructure, making it the ideal choice for this scenario.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
AWS OpsWorks
Why it's wrong here
AWS OpsWorks is a configuration management service that uses Chef or Puppet to manage infrastructure as code. While it can automate server configuration, it requires more setup and is not specifically designed for simple code upload and automatic scaling of a web application.
When this WOULD be correct
A company uses Chef or Puppet for configuration management and wants to automate application deployment and infrastructure management across multiple environments (e.g., staging, production) with custom recipes. OpsWorks would be correct when the team needs fine-grained control over the stack and is willing to manage EC2 instances and load balancers via code.
- ✗
Amazon Lightsail
Why it's wrong here
Amazon Lightsail provides simplified virtual private server (VPS) instances with predictable pricing, but it does not offer automatic scaling or managed load balancing. You would need to manually handle scaling and load balancing, which does not meet the requirement for minimal operational overhead.
When this WOULD be correct
A company needs a simple, low-cost virtual private server for a small web application or development/test environment, with predictable pricing and minimal configuration, and does not require advanced auto-scaling or load balancing features.
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 a fully managed service that automatically handles the deployment, capacity provisioning, load balancing, and auto-scaling of applications. Simply upload your WAR file and Elastic Beanstalk manages the underlying infrastructure, making it the ideal choice for this scenario.
✗Amazon EC2 Auto ScalingWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling only handles scaling of EC2 instances based on demand, but does not automate deployment of the WAR file, load balancer configuration, or capacity provisioning. The company wants a fully managed platform that handles the entire lifecycle, not just auto-scaling.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
An exam scenario where the company already has EC2 instances configured with a load balancer and just needs to automatically adjust the number of instances based on traffic metrics (e.g., CPU utilization). The question would specify that deployment and load balancer setup are already handled separately.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may think EC2 Auto Scaling is the answer because it is a core AWS service for scaling, but they overlook that the question requires a platform that also handles deployment and load balancing automatically without manual EC2 management.
✗AWS OpsWorksWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
AWS OpsWorks requires manual configuration of layers, instances, and load balancers via Chef/Puppet recipes, which contradicts the requirement to simply upload a WAR file and have AWS automatically handle deployment, capacity provisioning, load balancing, and auto-scaling without managing EC2 instances or load balancers.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company uses Chef or Puppet for configuration management and wants to automate application deployment and infrastructure management across multiple environments (e.g., staging, production) with custom recipes. OpsWorks would be correct when the team needs fine-grained control over the stack and is willing to manage EC2 instances and load balancers via code.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse OpsWorks with Elastic Beanstalk because both are AWS orchestration services that can deploy applications, but OpsWorks requires more manual configuration and does not offer the same level of automation for simply uploading a WAR file.
✗Amazon LightsailWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Amazon Lightsail provides pre-configured virtual private servers but does not automatically handle WAR file deployment, capacity provisioning, load balancing, or auto-scaling based on traffic; these require manual setup or additional services.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A company needs a simple, low-cost virtual private server for a small web application or development/test environment, with predictable pricing and minimal configuration, and does not require advanced auto-scaling or load balancing features.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse Lightsail's simplicity and managed nature with the full PaaS capabilities of Elastic Beanstalk, overlooking that Lightsail lacks built-in auto-scaling and automated deployment for WAR files.
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?”
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse EC2 Auto Scaling (Option A) as a complete solution for deployment and load balancing, but it only handles scaling and requires separate manual setup for the load balancer and application deployment, which does not satisfy the 'simply upload a WAR file' requirement.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Elastic Beanstalk uses a pre-configured platform for Java with Apache Tomcat, automatically creating an Auto Scaling group and an ALB that distributes HTTP traffic across EC2 instances. Under the hood, it leverages CloudFormation to provision resources, and the environment can be configured with environment variables and health checks via the Elastic Load Balancing (ELB) health check mechanism. A subtle behavior is that if the team needs custom AMIs or advanced networking, Elastic Beanstalk may require a custom platform or additional configuration, but for standard WAR file deployments, it abstracts all infrastructure management.
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.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
- →
Cloud Technology and Services — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
- →
Cloud Technology and Services practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
- →
All CLF-C02 questions
1,024 questions across all exam domains
- →
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner CLF-C02 study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
- →
CLF-C02 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
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.
Cloud Concepts practice questions
Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to Cloud Concepts.
Security and Compliance practice questions
Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to Security and Compliance.
Cloud Technology and Services practice questions
Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to Cloud Technology and Services.
Billing, Pricing, and Support practice questions
Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to Billing, Pricing, and Support.
AWS shared responsibility model practice questions
Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to AWS shared responsibility model.
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.
Practice this exam
Start a free CLF-C02 practice session
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
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: AWS Elastic Beanstalk — AWS Elastic Beanstalk is the correct choice because it provides a Platform as a Service (PaaS) offering that automatically handles deployment, capacity provisioning, load balancing, and auto-scaling for Java web applications. The team can simply upload a WAR file, and Elastic Beanstalk manages the underlying EC2 instances and Application Load Balancer (ALB) without requiring manual configuration. This directly meets the requirement to minimize operational overhead while supporting stateless web tiers.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "minimum / minimize". Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
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 →
Keep practising
More CLF-C02 practice questions
- A company publishes a message each time a new product is added to its catalogue. Three services need to receive this mes…
- A media company stores frequently accessed video thumbnails in Amazon S3. The thumbnails are read multiple times every d…
- A company needs a service to translate domain names (like www.example.com) into IP addresses, check the health of their…
- A startup runs an application on AWS and receives a monthly bill that charges exactly for the number of compute hours us…
- A financial institution runs its core banking application on-premises due to regulatory requirements. It has connected i…
- A company wants to run a MySQL database in AWS without managing database software installation, applying patches, settin…
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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.