Quick Answer
The answer is to reduce deployment package size and initialize clients outside of unnecessary hot paths. These two actions directly address the Lambda cold start timeout issue by minimizing the time required to load and initialize the execution environment. A smaller deployment package reduces download latency, while moving client initialization (like database connections) outside the handler function ensures that expensive setup code runs only once per environment instance, not on every invocation. On the AWS Certified Developer Associate DVA-C02 exam, this concept tests your understanding of Lambda lifecycle and optimization strategies—a common trap is assuming provisioned concurrency is the only solution, but the question specifically asks for two actions that reduce cold-start impact, not eliminate it entirely. Remember the mnemonic "Pack Light, Init Outside" to recall that lightweight code and external initialization are your first line of defense against cold-start timeouts.
This DVA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of troubleshooting and optimization. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A Lambda function behind API Gateway intermittently times out only during cold starts. Which two actions can reduce cold-start impact?
Use provisioned concurrency for predictable low latency
Correct for the stated requirement.
Move all logs to S3 Glacier
Why wrong: This does not meet the stated requirement as directly as the correct option.
Reduce deployment package size and initialize clients outside unnecessary hot paths
Correct for the stated requirement.
Disable all retries
Why wrong: This does not meet the stated requirement as directly as the correct option.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Use provisioned concurrency for predictable low latency
Provisioned concurrency keeps a specified number of Lambda execution environments initialized and ready to respond immediately, eliminating the cold-start latency for those invocations. This is the most direct way to ensure predictable low latency for a function that intermittently times out during cold starts.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Use provisioned concurrency for predictable low latency
Why this is correct
Correct for the stated requirement.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Move all logs to S3 Glacier
Why it's wrong here
This does not meet the stated requirement as directly as the correct option.
Reduce deployment package size and initialize clients outside unnecessary hot paths
Why this is correct
Correct for the stated requirement.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Disable all retries
Why it's wrong here
This does not meet the stated requirement as directly as the correct option.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates may confuse reducing cold-start impact with optimizing log storage or retry behavior, but only provisioned concurrency and minimizing initialization code directly address the cold-start latency issue.
Detailed technical explanation
Cold starts occur when Lambda needs to initialize a new execution environment, which includes downloading the deployment package, starting the runtime, and running initialization code outside the handler. Provisioned concurrency pre-warms environments by keeping them initialized, but it incurs additional cost for the reserved capacity. The trade-off is between latency predictability and cost, making it ideal for latency-sensitive APIs.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
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FAQ
Troubleshooting and Optimization — This question tests Troubleshooting and Optimization — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Use provisioned concurrency for predictable low latency — Provisioned concurrency keeps a specified number of Lambda execution environments initialized and ready to respond immediately, eliminating the cold-start latency for those invocations. This is the most direct way to ensure predictable low latency for a function that intermittently times out during cold starts.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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.
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