Question 135 of 988
CLF-C02 Cloud Technology and Services Practice Question
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?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates 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.
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.
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.
- ✗
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?”
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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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