Question 1,163 of 418
Serverless Traffic Spikes Handling
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.)
Quick Answer
The answer is to configure DynamoDB on-demand capacity mode and Lambda provisioned concurrency. DynamoDB on-demand instantly accommodates serverless traffic spikes without throttling by scaling to the table’s previous peak, while Lambda provisioned concurrency keeps a set number of execution environments warm, eliminating cold starts and ensuring consistent throughput during sudden bursts. On the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional DOP-C02 exam, this pairing tests your understanding of how to decouple scaling responsibilities—DynamoDB handles storage-level unpredictability, and Lambda handles compute-level readiness. A common trap is choosing DynamoDB auto-scaling instead of on-demand, but auto-scaling reacts too slowly for spikes. Remember the mnemonic “Warm Table, Warm Code”—on-demand warms the table, provisioned concurrency warms the code.
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse DynamoDB auto scaling with on-demand capacity, thinking auto scaling can handle sudden spikes as effectively as on-demand, but auto scaling has a lag time and can still throttle during rapid bursts.
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
✓
Use DynamoDB on-demand capacity mode for the table.
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.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Use DynamoDB on-demand capacity mode for the table.
Why this is correct
On-demand instantly scales to handle spikes.
- ✓
Configure Lambda provisioned concurrency to keep a set number of execution environments warm.
Why this is correct
Reduces cold starts and ensures capacity.
- ✗
Configure DynamoDB auto scaling with a minimum capacity of 10 read/write capacity units.
Why it's wrong here
Auto scaling has a lag; on-demand is better for unpredictable spikes.
- ✗
Increase the Lambda function timeout to the maximum (15 minutes).
Why it's wrong here
Timeout does not affect concurrency.
- ✗
Set API Gateway throttling limits to a high value to prevent throttling.
Why it's wrong here
Throttling limits are for protection; setting high values may not be sufficient.
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 |
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Same concept, more angles
1 more way 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 must be resilient to sudden spikes in traffic without manual intervention. Which combination of services should be used?
medium- ✓ A.API Gateway with throttling, Lambda with reserved concurrency, and DynamoDB auto scaling.
- B.API Gateway with usage plans, Lambda with provisioned concurrency, and DynamoDB on-demand.
- C.API Gateway with WAF, Lambda with function URLs, and DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX).
- D.API Gateway with caching, Lambda with no concurrency limits, and DynamoDB global tables.
Why A: 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.
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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