What Does a 202 Response Mean When Invoking Lambda Asynchronously?
This DVA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of development with aws services. 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.
Network Topology
Refer to the exhibit. A developer runs the AWS CLI command to invoke a Lambda function asynchronously. What does the response indicate?
Network Topology
A
The function executed successfully and returned output.
Why wrong: StatusCode 202 does not indicate success; it indicates the request was accepted.
B
The invocation was denied due to insufficient permissions.
Why wrong: Permissions errors would return 403 or 400.
C
The function was invoked synchronously and returned an error.
Why wrong: The invocation type is Event (async), not synchronous.
D
The function invocation was accepted but the function failed to execute successfully.
202 with FunctionError indicates asynchronous invocation failure.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The function invocation was accepted but the function failed to execute successfully.
When a Lambda function is invoked asynchronously, the AWS CLI returns a 202 Accepted status code immediately, along with an empty response body, to confirm that the invocation request was received and queued for processing. This does not indicate whether the function execution succeeded or failed; the actual result is handled separately via destinations, DLQs, or CloudWatch Logs. Therefore, a 202 response means the invocation was accepted, but the function may still fail during execution.
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.
✗
The function executed successfully and returned output.
Why it's wrong here
StatusCode 202 does not indicate success; it indicates the request was accepted.
✗
The invocation was denied due to insufficient permissions.
Why it's wrong here
Permissions errors would return 403 or 400.
✗
The function was invoked synchronously and returned an error.
Why it's wrong here
The invocation type is Event (async), not synchronous.
✓
The function invocation was accepted but the function failed to execute successfully.
Why this is correct
202 with FunctionError indicates asynchronous invocation failure.
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 assume a 202 Accepted response means the function executed successfully, confusing acceptance of the request with successful execution, which is a common misconception tested in asynchronous invocation scenarios.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, the Lambda Invoke API with `InvocationType: Event` causes the service to immediately enqueue the event and return HTTP 202, with the actual execution happening asynchronously. If the function fails, the error is not returned in the CLI response; instead, you must configure a Dead Letter Queue (DLQ) or an on-failure destination to capture the failure, or check CloudWatch Logs for the error. This behavior is critical for event-driven architectures where you need to decouple invocation from execution and handle failures out-of-band.
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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
Model
You Manage
Provider Manages
Examples
IaaS
OS, runtime, apps, data
Hardware, hypervisor, networking
EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine
PaaS
Apps and data
OS, runtime, middleware, hardware
Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service
SaaS
Data and settings only
Everything else
Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday
FaaS / Serverless
Function code only
Infra, scaling, runtime
Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run
CaaS
Containers and apps
Kubernetes, OS, hardware
EKS, AKS, GKE
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.
Development with AWS Services — This question tests Development with AWS Services — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The function invocation was accepted but the function failed to execute successfully. — When a Lambda function is invoked asynchronously, the AWS CLI returns a 202 Accepted status code immediately, along with an empty response body, to confirm that the invocation request was received and queued for processing. This does not indicate whether the function execution succeeded or failed; the actual result is handled separately via destinations, DLQs, or CloudWatch Logs. Therefore, a 202 response means the invocation was accepted, but the function may still fail during execution.
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.
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