DOP-C02 SDLC Automation Practice Question
Which THREE factors should be considered when designing a deployment strategy using AWS CodeDeploy to minimize downtime during updates? (Choose three.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often think deploying to all instances simultaneously (Option D) reduces total time and thus minimizes downtime, but they overlook that without traffic management, this approach can cause complete service interruption during the update window.
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
✓
Configure a load balancer to deregister instances before deployment.
Deregistering instances from a load balancer before deployment ensures that traffic is not routed to instances that are being updated, preventing downtime during the deployment process. AWS CodeDeploy integrates with Elastic Load Balancing to automatically deregister instances, wait for in-flight requests to complete, and then register them back after the deployment succeeds.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Configure a load balancer to deregister instances before deployment.
Why this is correct
Deregistering instances from the load balancer before deployment engages connection draining, allowing in-flight requests to finish before the instance is stopped. Combined with health check grace periods, users never reach a terminating instance, preventing 5xx errors and dropped connections during rolling or batch replacements. This is the core of a zero-downtime rolling update.
- ✓
Use a blue/green deployment to switch traffic instantly.
Why this is correct
Blue/green deployment runs a complete, already-provisioned new fleet (green) alongside the old environment (blue), then flips traffic at the network endpoint—for example, an Application Load Balancer target group or Amazon Route 53 record—in a single atomic step. If problems appear, you can instantly switch back, giving low risk and true zero-downtime. The primary trade-off is running two full environments during the cutover.
- ✓
Use canary deployments to shift traffic gradually.
Why this is correct
Canary deployment routes a small percentage of live traffic to the new version—say 5% using load balancer weights—while the majority continues hitting the stable fleet. This exposes only a subset of users to any regression, and you monitor metrics like error rate and latency before incrementally shifting to 100%. It balances risk with fast feedback and maintains availability throughout.
- ✗
Deploy to all instances simultaneously to reduce total time.
Why it's wrong here
Deploying to all instances at once—an All-at-Once rollout—has the shortest maintenance window, but if the new build has a latent fault there is no gradual exposure or rolled-back fleet to fall back on. Every request now hits the defective version, creating total application downtime. The blast radius equals the entire environment, and health check failures only appear after all instances are already replaced.
- ✗
Use the same instance type for all instances.
Why it's wrong here
Using uniform instance types across the fleet is a capacity-planning choice, not a deployment-pacing choice. Homogeneous hardware has no effect on how traffic transitions from old to new code, nor does it protect against a failed deployment, because all instances still update at the same time and can become unhealthy together. Downtime is governed by the rollout strategy and load balancer behavior, not by whether instance sizes are identical.
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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. Match each AWS deployment strategy to its description.
medium- ✓ A.Blue/Green: Deploy new version to a separate environment and switch traffic.
- ✓ B.Rolling: Incrementally replace instances of the old version with the new.
- ✓ C.Canary: Deploy to a small subset of instances first, then gradually roll out.
- ✓ D.All-at-once (In-place): Simultaneously deploy to all instances.
- E.Blue/Green: Deploy to a small subset first, then gradually.
- F.Rolling: Deploy to a separate environment and switch.
Why A: Blue/Green uses separate environments, Rolling replaces instances gradually, Canary tests with a subset first, and All-at-once updates all at once. Common confusions include swapping Blue/Green with Canary or Rolling.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.