The answer is immutable deployment, which is the correct choice because it creates an entirely new set of EC2 instances in a fresh Auto Scaling group running the updated application version, then seamlessly swaps the load balancer target group to route traffic to these new instances. This approach guarantees zero downtime during the transition and enables instant rollback by simply reverting the target group to the original instances if any issues arise. On the AWS Certified Developer Associate DVA-C02 exam, this question tests your understanding of Elastic Beanstalk deployment policies and their trade-offs, often appearing as a scenario where you must distinguish immutable from rolling or blue/green deployments—a common trap is confusing immutable with rolling updates, which update instances in batches and lack the same instant rollback capability. Remember the memory tip: “Immutable means new and swap—zero downtime, rollback in a snap.”
DVA-C02 Deployment Practice Question
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.
A developer is deploying a web application using AWS Elastic Beanstalk. The application runs on multiple Amazon EC2 instances behind an Application Load Balancer. The developer wants to deploy a new version with zero downtime and the ability to quickly roll back if issues are discovered. Which deployment policy should the developer choose?
Why wrong: Incorrect. All at once deploys to all instances simultaneously, causing downtime and no quick rollback.
B
Rolling
Why wrong: Incorrect. Rolling deploys a batch at a time, but it does not provide an easy rollback mechanism and can still cause brief downtime.
C
Rolling with additional batch
Why wrong: Incorrect. Rolling with additional batch launches new instances before taking old ones offline, reducing downtime, but rollback requires redeploying the old version.
D
Immutable
Correct. Immutable deployment creates a completely new environment, swaps the load balancer target group, and provides zero downtime with easy rollback by terminating the new environment.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Immutable
Immutable deployment is the correct choice because it launches a completely new set of EC2 instances in a new Auto Scaling group with the updated application version, then swaps the load balancer target group to point to the new instances. This ensures zero downtime during deployment and provides an instant rollback by simply reverting the target group to the old instances if issues are detected.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
All at once
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. All at once deploys to all instances simultaneously, causing downtime and no quick rollback.
✗
Rolling
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Rolling deploys a batch at a time, but it does not provide an easy rollback mechanism and can still cause brief downtime.
✗
Rolling with additional batch
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Rolling with additional batch launches new instances before taking old ones offline, reducing downtime, but rollback requires redeploying the old version.
✓
Immutable
Why this is correct
Correct. Immutable deployment creates a completely new environment, swaps the load balancer target group, and provides zero downtime with easy rollback by terminating the new environment.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse 'Rolling with additional batch' with zero-downtime because it adds capacity, but it still terminates old instances before new ones are fully healthy, causing brief downtime, whereas immutable deployment guarantees zero downtime by keeping the old environment fully intact until the swap is complete.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, immutable deployment creates a separate Auto Scaling group and target group, then performs a DNS swap or target group swap via Elastic Load Balancing, ensuring no overlapping traffic between old and new versions. This approach leverages the ALB's ability to register and deregister targets atomically, and rollback is as simple as swapping back the target group, which takes seconds. In real-world scenarios, this is critical for compliance-heavy environments where even milliseconds of downtime or mixed-version traffic cannot be tolerated.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
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
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Deployment — This question tests Deployment — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Immutable — Immutable deployment is the correct choice because it launches a completely new set of EC2 instances in a new Auto Scaling group with the updated application version, then swaps the load balancer target group to point to the new instances. This ensures zero downtime during deployment and provides an instant rollback by simply reverting the target group to the old instances if issues are detected.
What should I do if I get this DVA-C02 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.