Quick Answer
The answer is AWS Elastic Beanstalk and AWS CodeDeploy. Both services natively support blue/green deployment for applications running on Amazon EC2 instances, but they handle the process differently. CodeDeploy directly manages the provisioning of a new set of EC2 instances (the green environment), deploys the new application revision to them, and then shifts traffic from the old (blue) environment using integration with an Elastic Load Balancer or Auto Scaling groups. Elastic Beanstalk, on the other hand, automates the entire environment swap by cloning your current environment, deploying the new version, and swapping the CNAME records to redirect traffic. On the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional DOP-C02 exam, this concept tests your understanding of deployment strategies and service capabilities; a common trap is confusing CodeDeploy with CodePipeline, which orchestrates but does not execute the deployment itself. Remember the mnemonic: “Blue goes Green with CodeDeploy’s scene, Beanstalk swaps the CNAME clean.”
This DOP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of sdlc automation. 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 implement a blue/green deployment for an application running on Amazon EC2 instances?
AWS CloudFormation
Why wrong: CloudFormation can create resources but not orchestrate blue/green.
AWS CodeDeploy
CodeDeploy has blue/green deployment support.
AWS Elastic Beanstalk
Elastic Beanstalk supports blue/green with environment swaps.
AWS OpsWorks
Why wrong: OpsWorks does not have native blue/green deployment.
AWS CodeBuild
Why wrong: CodeBuild is a build 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 CodeDeploy
AWS CodeDeploy (Option B) is correct because it natively supports blue/green deployments for Amazon EC2 instances by allowing you to provision a new set of instances (the green environment), deploy the new application revision to them, and then shift traffic from the old (blue) environment to the new one. This is achieved through integration with an Elastic Load Balancer (ELB) or Auto Scaling groups, where CodeDeploy manages the lifecycle of instances and traffic routing during the deployment process.
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 CloudFormation
Why it's wrong here
CloudFormation can create resources but not orchestrate blue/green.
AWS CodeDeploy
Why this is correct
CodeDeploy has blue/green deployment support.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
AWS Elastic Beanstalk
Why this is correct
Elastic Beanstalk supports blue/green with environment swaps.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
AWS OpsWorks
Why it's wrong here
OpsWorks does not have native blue/green deployment.
AWS CodeBuild
Why it's wrong here
CodeBuild is a build service.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse AWS CloudFormation (which can define the infrastructure for blue/green deployments) with the actual deployment service that orchestrates the traffic shift, leading them to select CloudFormation instead of CodeDeploy or Elastic Beanstalk.
Detailed technical explanation
Under the hood, AWS CodeDeploy uses a deployment configuration that specifies the number of instances to deploy to at a time and the traffic routing method (e.g., all-at-once, canary, or linear). For blue/green deployments, CodeDeploy creates a new Auto Scaling group (or uses an existing one) for the green environment, registers the new instances with the load balancer, and then shifts traffic by updating the target group weights in an Application Load Balancer (ALB) or by swapping the Auto Scaling group in a Classic Load Balancer. A subtle behavior is that CodeDeploy can optionally deregister the old instances from the load balancer and terminate them after a specified wait time, allowing for easy rollback by re-routing traffic to the blue environment if needed.
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
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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FAQ
SDLC Automation — This question tests SDLC Automation — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: AWS CodeDeploy — AWS CodeDeploy (Option B) is correct because it natively supports blue/green deployments for Amazon EC2 instances by allowing you to provision a new set of instances (the green environment), deploy the new application revision to them, and then shift traffic from the old (blue) environment to the new one. This is achieved through integration with an Elastic Load Balancer (ELB) or Auto Scaling groups, where CodeDeploy manages the lifecycle of instances and traffic routing during the deployment process.
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 DOP-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 DOP-C02 exam.
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