CLF-C02 Cloud Technology and Services Practice Question
Which AWS service enables you to run containerized applications without managing the underlying servers?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse AWS Lambda's container image support with a full container orchestration service, or assume that any container service (like ECS or EKS) is serverless by default, when in fact only Fargate removes the server management burden.
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 Fargate
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.
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 Docker
Why it's wrong here
Amazon EC2 with Docker packages your application into a container, but the container runs on an EC2 instance that you own. You are still responsible for patching the operating system, managing instance lifecycle, and ensuring the underlying server has enough capacity. This is infrastructure-as-a-service, not serverless, because you must scale and maintain the EC2 fleet yourself.
- ✓
AWS Fargate
Why this is correct
AWS Fargate is a serverless compute engine for containers that removes the need to provision or manage any underlying servers. You define the container and its resource requirements in vCPU and memory, and Fargate places the workload onto infrastructure that AWS fully operates. Scaling is automatic, and you are billed only for the resources your containers actually consume, making it the correct choice for running containers without server management.
- ✗
AWS Lambda
Why it's wrong here
AWS Lambda is a serverless compute service that runs code in response to events, and although Lambda supports packaging functions as container images, it is not designed for running general containerized applications or long-running services. You supply a function or a minimal runtime, not a full container orchestration workflow, and the service has different execution model boundaries. It is wrong because the requirement is to run containers, not just code functions.
- ✗
Amazon EKS on EC2
Why it's wrong here
Amazon EKS on EC2 gives you a managed Kubernetes control plane, but the worker nodes that host your containers are EC2 instances that you create, patch, and scale. You must still manage the EC2 node group, handle node replenishment, and configure auto scaling for those underlying instances. This is a managed Kubernetes offering, but it does not eliminate server management, so it does not meet the serverless requirement.
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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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.