DVA-C02 Deployment Practice Question
A developer is deploying a containerized application on Amazon ECS with Fargate. The application needs to read configuration data from AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store. The developer wants to ensure that the ECS task definition can access the parameter without hardcoding the value. What should the developer do?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse the 'secrets' field (which supports both Parameter Store and Secrets Manager) with the non-existent 'parameters' section or the 'configs' section (which is for file-based configuration), leading them to select a plausible-sounding but incorrect option.
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
✓
Use the 'secrets' field in the task definition to reference the parameter ARN.
The 'secrets' field in an ECS task definition allows you to reference AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store (or AWS Secrets Manager) parameters by their ARN. This enables the container to retrieve the configuration value at runtime without hardcoding it in the task definition or container image, maintaining security and flexibility.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Store the configuration in Amazon ECR as a label and reference it in the task definition.
Why it's wrong here
Amazon ECR (Elastic Container Registry) is primarily designed for storing and managing Docker container images. While ECR allows adding labels (metadata) to images, this mechanism is not intended for storing dynamic application configuration or sensitive data that needs to be injected into a running container. Configuration should be managed separately from the image itself for flexibility and security, rather than embedding it as an image label.
- ✗
Use the 'configs' section in the task definition to load from Parameter Store.
Why it's wrong here
AWS ECS task definitions do not include a top-level 'configs' section or field specifically designed to directly load configuration from AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store. Task definitions are structured with fields like `containerDefinitions`, `cpu`, `memory`, and `networkMode`, but a dedicated 'configs' section for Parameter Store integration is not a standard or supported construct within the ECS task definition schema.
- ✗
Add a 'parameters' section in the task definition to load from Parameter Store.
Why it's wrong here
Similar to the 'configs' section, there is no predefined or supported 'parameters' section within an AWS ECS task definition schema that allows direct loading of values from AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store. Task definitions specify how containers run and their resource requirements, but they do not have a generic 'parameters' field for external configuration sources in this manner.
- ✓
Use the 'secrets' field in the task definition to reference the parameter ARN.
Why this is correct
The `secrets` field within the `containerDefinitions` section of an AWS ECS task definition is the correct and intended mechanism for injecting sensitive data or configuration, including values stored in AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store, into a container. By specifying the ARN of a Parameter Store parameter, ECS can securely retrieve the value and expose it as an environment variable or file within the container at runtime. This ensures sensitive data is not hardcoded in the task definition or container image.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This DVA-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 DVA-C02 exam.