DVA-C02 Deployment Practice Question
A company runs a web application on AWS Elastic Beanstalk. The application currently runs in a single environment. The developer wants to deploy a new version with zero downtime and be able to test the new version thoroughly before it receives any production traffic. Which deployment strategy should the developer use?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse immutable deployments (which replace instances but not the environment) with blue/green deployments (which replace the entire environment), leading them to choose Option B because both involve launching new instances, but only blue/green allows pre-production testing without traffic exposure.
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
✓
Create a new environment (green) with the new version, run tests against it, and then swap the environment URLs so that production points to the green environment.
It describes a blue/green deployment strategy, which creates a separate 'green' environment with the new application version, allowing thorough testing before swapping the environment URLs (CNAME records) in Elastic Beanstalk. This ensures zero downtime because the swap is instantaneous and the original 'blue' environment remains untouched until the swap occurs.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Perform a rolling deployment with a batch size of one instance at a time.
Why it's wrong here
Performing a rolling deployment with a batch size of one instance at a time updates instances sequentially within the existing Elastic Beanstalk environment. As each instance is updated with the new application version, it immediately begins serving live production traffic. This method does not provide an isolated, separate environment for comprehensive testing and validation of the new version before it is exposed to end-users, making it unsuitable for scenarios requiring pre-production testing.
- ✗
Use an immutable deployment to launch a new set of instances and then swap the Auto Scaling group.
Why it's wrong here
An immutable deployment creates an entirely new set of instances running the new application version alongside the old instances within the *same* Elastic Beanstalk environment. Once these new instances pass health checks, traffic is shifted to them, and the old instances are terminated. While this approach minimizes downtime and simplifies rollbacks, it still lacks a dedicated, isolated environment where extensive pre-production testing can occur without any risk of impacting live production traffic.
- ✓
Create a new environment (green) with the new version, run tests against it, and then swap the environment URLs so that production points to the green environment.
Why this is correct
This strategy describes a blue/green deployment, which is ideal for comprehensive pre-production testing. A completely new "green" Elastic Beanstalk environment is provisioned with the new application version, running in parallel to the existing "blue" production environment. This isolated green environment allows for extensive functional and performance testing without impacting live users. Once validated, a DNS CNAME swap instantly redirects all production traffic to the new green environment, ensuring zero downtime and a quick rollback option by swapping back if needed.
- ✗
Use a rolling deployment with additional batch to launch new instances before terminating old ones.
Why it's wrong here
A rolling deployment with an additional batch temporarily increases the environment's capacity by launching new instances with the updated application version *before* terminating old instances. While this helps maintain capacity during the update, the update still occurs within the existing production environment. The new version is exposed to production traffic as soon as its instances are launched and pass basic health checks, precluding a dedicated, isolated testing phase prior to live exposure.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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