Quick Answer
The answer is AWS CodeDeploy and AWS Elastic Beanstalk. CodeDeploy directly automates code deployment to EC2 instances by managing the rollout of application revisions across a fleet, using deployment configurations like in-place or blue/green strategies to minimize downtime. Elastic Beanstalk, as a Platform as a Service, abstracts the underlying infrastructure and automatically deploys your code to EC2 instances when you upload a new version, handling capacity provisioning, load balancing, and health monitoring behind the scenes. On the AWS Certified Developer Associate DVA-C02 exam, this question tests your ability to distinguish between services that handle deployment orchestration versus those that only provide compute or storage—common traps include selecting AWS CodeCommit (a source control service) or AWS CloudFormation (infrastructure as code), which do not directly deploy code to instances. A helpful memory tip: think of CodeDeploy as the "deployment engine" and Elastic Beanstalk as the "full-service platform" that includes that engine, so both can automatically deploy code to EC2.
This DVA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of deployment. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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.
Which TWO AWS services can be used to automatically deploy code to Amazon EC2 instances? (Choose two.)
AWS Elastic Beanstalk
Elastic Beanstalk deploys applications and manages EC2 instances.
AWS CodeDeploy
CodeDeploy deploys applications to EC2 instances.
AWS CloudFormation
Why wrong: CloudFormation manages infrastructure, not application deployment.
AWS OpsWorks
Why wrong: OpsWorks is for configuration management, not automated code deployment.
AWS CodeBuild
Why wrong: CodeBuild is a build service, not a deployment service.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
AWS Elastic Beanstalk
AWS Elastic Beanstalk is a PaaS service that automates the deployment of applications to EC2 instances by handling capacity provisioning, load balancing, and health monitoring. It automatically deploys code when you upload a new application version, making it a correct choice for automated deployment to EC2.
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.
AWS Elastic Beanstalk
Why this is correct
Elastic Beanstalk deploys applications and manages EC2 instances.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
AWS CodeDeploy
Why this is correct
CodeDeploy deploys applications to EC2 instances.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
AWS CloudFormation
Why it's wrong here
CloudFormation manages infrastructure, not application deployment.
AWS OpsWorks
Why it's wrong here
OpsWorks is for configuration management, not automated code deployment.
AWS CodeBuild
Why it's wrong here
CodeBuild is a build service, not a deployment service.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse AWS CloudFormation's ability to deploy infrastructure with deploying application code, or they mistakenly think AWS CodeBuild's build process includes deployment, when in fact CodeBuild only produces artifacts and requires a separate service like CodeDeploy for actual deployment.
Detailed technical explanation
AWS CodeDeploy integrates with Auto Scaling groups and uses a deployment agent on each EC2 instance to pull and install application revisions from S3 or GitHub, supporting in-place and blue/green deployments. Elastic Beanstalk abstracts the underlying EC2 instances and uses a platform-specific deployment mechanism, such as rolling updates or immutable deployments, to minimize downtime. In a real-world scenario, a team might use CodeDeploy for granular control over deployment strategies (e.g., canary testing) while Elastic Beanstalk is ideal for simpler, fully managed environments.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
What to study next
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FAQ
Deployment — This question tests Deployment — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: AWS Elastic Beanstalk — AWS Elastic Beanstalk is a PaaS service that automates the deployment of applications to EC2 instances by handling capacity provisioning, load balancing, and health monitoring. It automatically deploys code when you upload a new application version, making it a correct choice for automated deployment to EC2.
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 24, 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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