- A
API Gateway with throttling, Lambda with reserved concurrency, and DynamoDB auto scaling.
Throttling prevents overload, reserved concurrency ensures Lambda capacity, auto scaling handles DB load.
- B
API Gateway with usage plans, Lambda with provisioned concurrency, and DynamoDB on-demand.
Why wrong: Provisioned concurrency is for cold start, not spike handling; on-demand is expensive.
- C
API Gateway with WAF, Lambda with function URLs, and DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX).
Why wrong: WAF for security, function URLs not needed, DAX for reads only.
- D
API Gateway with caching, Lambda with no concurrency limits, and DynamoDB global tables.
Why wrong: No concurrency limits can cause Lambda throttling; global tables are for multi-region, not spikes.
Question 126 of 1,750
Resilient Serverless Architecture for Traffic Spikes
This DOP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of resilient cloud solutions. 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 company is building a serverless application using AWS Lambda, Amazon API Gateway, and Amazon DynamoDB. The application must be resilient to sudden spikes in traffic without manual intervention. Which combination of services should be used?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
API Gateway with throttling, Lambda with reserved concurrency, and DynamoDB auto scaling.
Option A is correct because it combines API Gateway throttling to absorb traffic spikes by queuing or rejecting excess requests, Lambda reserved concurrency to guarantee execution capacity for the function, and DynamoDB auto scaling to adjust read/write capacity based on demand. This triad ensures the application remains available and responsive under sudden load without manual intervention.
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.
- ✓
API Gateway with throttling, Lambda with reserved concurrency, and DynamoDB auto scaling.
Why this is correct
Throttling prevents overload, reserved concurrency ensures Lambda capacity, auto scaling handles DB load.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
API Gateway with usage plans, Lambda with provisioned concurrency, and DynamoDB on-demand.
Why it's wrong here
Provisioned concurrency is for cold start, not spike handling; on-demand is expensive.
- ✗
API Gateway with WAF, Lambda with function URLs, and DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX).
Why it's wrong here
WAF for security, function URLs not needed, DAX for reads only.
- ✗
API Gateway with caching, Lambda with no concurrency limits, and DynamoDB global tables.
Why it's wrong here
No concurrency limits can cause Lambda throttling; global tables are for multi-region, not spikes.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse 'provisioned concurrency' (Option B) with 'reserved concurrency' (Option A), mistakenly believing pre-warming instances handles spikes, when in fact reserved concurrency guarantees capacity but does not reduce cold starts, and provisioned concurrency is for latency, not burst resilience.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
API Gateway throttling uses a token bucket algorithm with a burst rate and steady-state rate; when the bucket empties, requests receive a 429 Too Many Requests response, protecting downstream services. Lambda reserved concurrency sets a hard limit on concurrent executions, preventing other functions from consuming all available concurrency in the account, while DynamoDB auto scaling uses the AWS Application Auto Scaling service to adjust provisioned capacity based on consumed capacity metrics over a cooldown period, ensuring the table can handle sudden write bursts without throttling.
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 startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
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.
- →
Resilient Cloud Solutions — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this DOP-C02 question test?
Resilient Cloud Solutions — This question tests Resilient Cloud Solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: API Gateway with throttling, Lambda with reserved concurrency, and DynamoDB auto scaling. — Option A is correct because it combines API Gateway throttling to absorb traffic spikes by queuing or rejecting excess requests, Lambda reserved concurrency to guarantee execution capacity for the function, and DynamoDB auto scaling to adjust read/write capacity based on demand. This triad ensures the application remains available and responsive under sudden load without manual intervention.
What should I do if I get this DOP-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 →
Same concept, more angles
1 more ways this is tested on DOP-C02
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company is building a serverless application using AWS Lambda, Amazon API Gateway, and Amazon DynamoDB. The application is expected to have unpredictable traffic patterns. The DevOps team needs to ensure that the application can handle sudden spikes in traffic without throttling. Which TWO actions should the team take? (Choose TWO.)
medium- ✓ A.Use DynamoDB on-demand capacity mode for the table.
- ✓ B.Configure Lambda provisioned concurrency to keep a set number of execution environments warm.
- C.Configure DynamoDB auto scaling with a minimum capacity of 10 read/write capacity units.
- D.Increase the Lambda function timeout to the maximum (15 minutes).
- E.Set API Gateway throttling limits to a high value to prevent throttling.
Why A: Option A is correct because DynamoDB on-demand capacity mode automatically scales to handle unpredictable traffic spikes without requiring capacity planning or throttling. This mode charges per request and can accommodate sudden bursts of traffic up to the table's previous peak, making it ideal for serverless applications with variable workloads.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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