Question 1mediummultiple choice
Full question →mediummultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A developer launches an Amazon EC2 instance that needs to read and write data to an Amazon DynamoDB table. The developer must follow the principle of least privilege and ensure that no long-term credentials are stored on the instance. Which approach should the developer use?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
A
Distractor review
Create an IAM user with programmatic access, store the access key and secret key in a configuration file on the EC2 instance.
Storing long-term credentials on the instance is a security risk. These credentials can be compromised if the instance is breached, and they require manual rotation.
B
Distractor review
Store the DynamoDB credentials in AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store as a SecureString, and retrieve them from the EC2 instance at runtime.
While Parameter Store can store secrets, the EC2 instance still needs credentials to access Parameter Store. This approach does not eliminate long-term credentials on the instance.
C
Best answer
Create an IAM role with the necessary DynamoDB permissions, and attach the role to the EC2 instance profile. The SDK will automatically retrieve temporary credentials from the instance metadata.
An IAM role provides temporary credentials that are automatically rotated. The EC2 instance retrieves them via the instance metadata service, eliminating the need for long-term credentials.
D
Distractor review
Use a Lambda function to generate temporary credentials for the EC2 instance and pass them via user data at launch.
This is complex and insecure as the temporary credentials would still be stored on the instance. The instance metadata service already provides a simple and secure way to obtain temporary credentials.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: authentication is not authorization
Logging in proves the user can authenticate. It does not automatically mean the user is allowed to enter privileged or configuration mode. Watch for AAA authorization, privilege level and command authorization details.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
This kind of question is testing the difference between identity and permission. A user may successfully log in to a router because authentication is working, but still fail to enter configuration mode because authorization is missing, misconfigured or mapped to a lower privilege level.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Authentication checks who the user is.
- Authorization controls what the user is allowed to do after login.
- Privilege levels affect access to EXEC and configuration commands.
- AAA, TACACS+ and RADIUS can separate login success from command access.
TExam Day Tips
- Do not assume successful login means full administrative access.
- Look for words such as cannot enter configuration mode, privilege level, authorization or command access.
- Separate login problems from permission problems before choosing the answer.
Related practice questions
Related DVA-C02 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
A developer is building a REST API using Amazon API Gateway that will serve static content from an Amazon S3 bucket. The API should cache responses for frequently accessed objects to reduce latency. Which API Gateway feature should the developer enable?
Question 2
A developer is running a web application on multiple Amazon EC2 instances behind an Application Load Balancer (ALB). The application needs to store user session state that must be available across all instances. The session data is small and temporary but must survive individual instance failures. Which AWS service should the developer use to store this session state?
Question 3
A developer has an AWS Lambda function that processes messages from an Amazon SQS standard queue. The function is idempotent and currently has a batch size of 10. The developer wants to increase throughput and increases the batch size to 100. After the change, CloudWatch metrics show a significant increase in throttles and the queue backlog is growing. The function's reserved concurrency is set to 10. What is the most effective action to resolve the throttling and improve throughput?
Question 4
A developer is managing an application running on Amazon EC2 instances behind an Application Load Balancer. Users report that the application becomes unresponsive after several hours, and restarting the instance temporarily fixes the issue. The developer suspects a memory leak but cannot add custom instrumentation. Which AWS service can collect memory utilization metrics and help identify the memory leak with minimal configuration?
Question 5
A developer is building a serverless web application using AWS Lambda and Amazon DynamoDB. The application needs to perform complex aggregations on data stored in DynamoDB. Which AWS service should the developer use to perform these aggregations efficiently without reading all the data into Lambda?
Question 6
A developer has an Amazon S3 bucket containing private user documents. The application must generate a time-limited URL for users to download their own documents without requiring the users to have AWS credentials. Which solution should the developer use?
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this DVA-C02 question test?
Authentication checks who the user is.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create an IAM role with the necessary DynamoDB permissions, and attach the role to the EC2 instance profile. The SDK will automatically retrieve temporary credentials from the instance metadata. — The best practice is to use an IAM role and attach it to the EC2 instance profile. The instance can then obtain temporary credentials via the instance metadata service. Storing access keys on the instance is insecure and requires manual rotation. Using Parameter Store still involves storing a secret on the instance. The EC2 instance should not have access keys; instead, it should use an IAM role.
What should I do if I get this DVA-C02 question wrong?
Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.
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