Match each AWS deployment strategy to its description.
Drag a concept onto its matching description — or click a concept then click the description.
Switch between two environments
Gradual traffic shifting
Update instances incrementally
Immediate full deployment
Equal percentage increments
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Rolling deployment: Incrementally replaces instances of the previous version with new version instances.
Common deployment strategies include Rolling, Blue/Green, and Canary. Rolling deploys incrementally, Blue/Green switches between environments, and Canary tests with a small subset. Distractors often confuse these definitions.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Rolling deployment: Incrementally replaces instances of the previous version with new version instances.
Why this is correct
Rolling deployment replaces a small, fixed batch of running instances at a time, leaving the remaining instances in service to continue handling traffic. As each batch passes health checks, the next batch is updated, so the application never experiences a complete outage and the change can be paused or rolled back incrementally. This approach is distinct from a full simultaneous replacement because it carefully manages capacity and risk over multiple steps.
Blue/Green deployment: Deploys new version to a separate environment and shifts all traffic after validation.
Why this is correct
Blue/Green deployment runs two completely separate environments: the current 'blue' environment and the new 'green' environment. After the green environment is fully deployed and passes validation tests, a router or load balancer switches all production traffic from blue to green in a single cutover. This allows an instant rollback by flipping traffic back to blue, but it requires hosting and maintaining twice the infrastructure during the transition.
Canary deployment: Releases new version to a small subset of users before rolling out to all.
Why this is correct
Canary deployment exposes the new version to only a small, controlled subset of users or servers, typically 5-10% of traffic, while the rest continue on the old version. The team monitors key performance indicators and error rates for the canary group, and only if metrics remain healthy does the rollout gradually increase traffic to the new version. This early-warning technique limits blast radius but does not involve a separate full environment or a single all-at-once traffic switch.
Rolling deployment: Simultaneously updates all instances.
Why it's wrong here
This description is incorrect because Rolling deployment is by definition incremental, not simultaneous; updating all instances at the same time would trigger an outage and is known as an all-at-once or in-place deployment. Rolling deliberately staggers instance replacement so that a subset of the fleet is always serving traffic. Simultaneous update removes the safety net of having healthy instances available during the deployment.
Canary deployment: Deploys to a full separate environment and then switches traffic.
Why it's wrong here
This description is false because deploying to a full separate environment and then switching all traffic describes Blue/Green deployment, not Canary. Canary releases the new version to a small slice of live traffic within the same deployment pipeline, rather than standing up a whole parallel environment. A canary is a partial, gradual exposure, while the full-environment switch is an instantaneous cutover between two complete stacks.
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About these practice questions
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.