- A
Amazon EC2 with Docker installed
Why wrong: Installing Docker on EC2 still requires full instance management, OS patching, and cluster orchestration.
- B
Amazon ECS on EC2
Why wrong: ECS on EC2 requires managing the underlying EC2 instances in the cluster.
- C
AWS Fargate
Fargate removes all EC2 instance management — developers specify container requirements and Fargate provisions and manages the underlying infrastructure invisibly.
- D
AWS Lambda
Why wrong: Lambda runs code in functions, not containers with persistent processes. It doesn't support arbitrary containerized applications.
Question 817 of 1,024
CLF-C02 Cloud Technology and Services Practice Question
This CLF-C02 practice question tests your understanding of cloud technology and services. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 run containerized applications without managing the underlying EC2 instances or clusters. Which AWS service enables this?
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 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.
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 with Docker installed
Why it's wrong here
Installing Docker on EC2 still requires full instance management, OS patching, and cluster orchestration.
- ✗
Amazon ECS on EC2
Why it's wrong here
ECS on EC2 requires managing the underlying EC2 instances in the cluster.
- ✓
AWS Fargate
Why this is correct
Fargate removes all EC2 instance management — developers specify container requirements and Fargate provisions and manages the underlying infrastructure invisibly.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
AWS Lambda
Why it's wrong here
Lambda runs code in functions, not containers with persistent processes. It doesn't support arbitrary containerized applications.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Amazon ECS on EC2 (which still requires instance management) with AWS Fargate (which is serverless), or they incorrectly assume AWS Lambda can run any containerized application despite its execution time and resource constraints.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Fargate uses a lightweight virtualization layer based on Firecracker microVMs, which provide strong isolation for each task while sharing the host kernel. This allows Fargate to allocate CPU and memory resources per task (e.g., 0.25 vCPU and 512 MB RAM as the minimum) without the overhead of managing full EC2 instances. In a real-world scenario, a company running a microservices architecture with unpredictable traffic patterns benefits from Fargate because it automatically scales tasks based on CloudWatch metrics and eliminates the operational burden of maintaining an ECS cluster's underlying instances.
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
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
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 |
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.
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Cloud Technology and Services — study guide chapter
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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 Fargate — 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.
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.
About these practice questions
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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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