- A
Dedicated Instances
Why wrong: Dedicated Instances run on hardware dedicated to your account but you can't control placement or view socket/core details needed for per-socket licensing.
- B
Dedicated Hosts
Dedicated Hosts provide an entire physical server with visibility into sockets, cores, and instance slots — enabling per-socket or per-core software license compliance and consistent placement.
- C
Reserved Instances
Why wrong: Reserved Instances are a pricing commitment — they don't control physical host allocation or provide socket/core visibility for licensing.
- D
EC2 Bare Metal instances
Why wrong: Bare Metal instances provide direct access to the underlying hardware without virtualization — they're used for non-virtualized workloads, not specifically for per-socket licensing compliance management.
Quick Answer
The answer is Dedicated Hosts. This is the correct choice because Dedicated Hosts provide EC2 instances with exclusive access to a physical server, allowing you to see and control the exact number of physical sockets and cores on the host, which is essential for per-socket software licensing compliance. On the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner CLF-C02 exam, this question tests your understanding of the difference between Dedicated Hosts, which give you visibility into the underlying hardware for license-bound workloads, and Dedicated Instances, which run on isolated hardware but do not expose socket or core counts. A common trap is confusing Dedicated Instances with Dedicated Hosts—remember that only Dedicated Hosts let you manage placement and track physical sockets for licensing. Memory tip: “Host shows the sockets” — if your license counts sockets, you need a Dedicated Host.
CLF-C02 Billing, Pricing, and Support Practice Question
This CLF-C02 practice question tests your understanding of billing, pricing, and support. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 running large-scale scientific simulations needs EC2 instances with exclusive access to a physical host for software licensing reasons (per-socket licensing). Which EC2 option provides 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
Dedicated Hosts
Dedicated Hosts (Option B) provide EC2 instances with exclusive access to a physical host, allowing you to control instance placement on a specific server. This is required for per-socket software licensing because you can see and manage the physical sockets and cores of the host, ensuring compliance with licensing terms that are tied to physical hardware.
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.
- ✗
Dedicated Instances
Why it's wrong here
Dedicated Instances run on hardware dedicated to your account but you can't control placement or view socket/core details needed for per-socket licensing.
- ✓
Dedicated Hosts
Why this is correct
Dedicated Hosts provide an entire physical server with visibility into sockets, cores, and instance slots — enabling per-socket or per-core software license compliance and consistent placement.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Reserved Instances
Why it's wrong here
Reserved Instances are a pricing commitment — they don't control physical host allocation or provide socket/core visibility for licensing.
- ✗
EC2 Bare Metal instances
Why it's wrong here
Bare Metal instances provide direct access to the underlying hardware without virtualization — they're used for non-virtualized workloads, not specifically for per-socket licensing compliance management.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is confusing Dedicated Instances with Dedicated Hosts: candidates often think 'dedicated' means full hardware control, but Dedicated Instances only provide single-tenant isolation without exposing socket/core information, which is insufficient for per-socket licensing compliance.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Dedicated Hosts allow you to see the physical characteristics of the host, such as the number of physical sockets and cores, via the AWS Management Console or API. This enables you to bring your own per-socket or per-core licensed software (e.g., Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle) and ensure compliance by controlling which instances run on which host. Under the hood, each Dedicated Host is a physical server with a specific instance family and size, and you can allocate instances to it, with the option to automatically place new instances or manually control placement for licensing audits.
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 startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
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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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this CLF-C02 question test?
Billing, Pricing, and Support — This question tests Billing, Pricing, and Support — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Dedicated Hosts — Dedicated Hosts (Option B) provide EC2 instances with exclusive access to a physical host, allowing you to control instance placement on a specific server. This is required for per-socket software licensing because you can see and manage the physical sockets and cores of the host, ensuring compliance with licensing terms that are tied to physical hardware.
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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