DVA-C02 Development with AWS Services Practice Question

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

• ✓

  "Retry": [ { "ErrorEquals": ["States.Timeout"], "IntervalSeconds": 1, "BackoffRate": 2, "MaxAttempts": 3 } ]

  Why this is correct

  This configuration correctly specifies a retry mechanism for the `States.Timeout` error, which occurs when a state's execution exceeds its defined timeout. It initiates the first retry after 1 second, employing an exponential backoff strategy by doubling the interval (`BackoffRate: 2`) for subsequent attempts. The `MaxAttempts: 3` ensures that the state will be retried up to three times before ultimately failing, providing a robust handling for transient timeout conditions.

• ✗

  "Retry": [ { "ErrorEquals": ["States.Timeout"], "IntervalSeconds": 2, "BackoffRate": 3, "MaxAttempts": 5 } ]

  Why it's wrong here

  While this configuration correctly targets the `States.Timeout` error, the `MaxAttempts` value of 5 is typically excessive for transient timeout scenarios and deviates from common best practices or implicit requirements for a specific number of retries. An overly aggressive retry count can unnecessarily prolong state machine execution, consume more resources, and delay the detection of persistent issues that require human intervention rather than automated retries.

• ✗

  "Retry": [ { "ErrorEquals": ["States.Timeout"], "IntervalSeconds": 1, "BackoffRate": 2, "MaxAttempts": 2 } ]

  Why it's wrong here

  This retry configuration accurately identifies `States.Timeout` as the error to handle and employs an appropriate exponential backoff strategy with an initial `IntervalSeconds` of 1 and a `BackoffRate` of 2. However, setting `MaxAttempts` to 2 is insufficient if the problem context implies a need for up to three retries. This configuration would cause the state to fail prematurely after only two retries, potentially missing an opportunity to recover from a temporary service disruption that might resolve on a third attempt.

• ✗

  "Retry": [ { "ErrorEquals": ["Lambda.ServiceException"], "IntervalSeconds": 1, "BackoffRate": 2, "MaxAttempts": 3 } ]

  Why it's wrong here

  This configuration is incorrect because it attempts to catch `Lambda.ServiceException`, which is an error specific to AWS Lambda service issues, such as internal errors or throttling. The problem statement indicates that the error to be handled is `States.Timeout`, an intrinsic Step Functions error that signifies a state has exceeded its allocated execution time. Consequently, this retry block would never activate for the intended `States.Timeout` error, leading to an unhandled failure in the workflow.