SAA-C03 Design High-Performing Architectures Practice Question
An application requires a high-throughput, low-latency shared file system for a Linux-based HPC cluster. Which AWS service should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
SAA-C03 often tests the misconception that Amazon EFS is suitable for all shared file system needs, but candidates must recognize that HPC workloads requiring extreme throughput and low latency specifically demand FSx for Lustre.
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
✓
Amazon FSx for Lustre.
Amazon FSx for Lustre is a fully managed, high-performance file system optimized for compute-intensive workloads like HPC, machine learning, and media processing. It provides sub-millisecond latencies, millions of IOPS, and hundreds of gigabytes per second of throughput, making it ideal for Linux-based HPC clusters that require a shared, POSIX-compliant file system. Unlike general-purpose file systems, Lustre is designed for parallel access from many compute nodes simultaneously, which is essential for HPC applications.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Amazon EFS.
Why it's wrong here
Amazon EFS is a general-purpose, scalable file system for NFS workloads. While it is highly available, it does not provide the massive parallel throughput and low-latency performance required for heavy-duty HPC clusters compared to FSx for Lustre, which is purpose-built for those specific, high-performance computing requirements.
- ✗
Amazon EBS Provisioned IOPS.
Why it's wrong here
EBS is a block storage service, not a shared file system. While it is high-performance, it cannot be attached to multiple EC2 instances simultaneously in a way that provides a shared file system interface. For shared access across an HPC cluster, a distributed file system like FSx is required.
- ✓
Amazon FSx for Lustre.
Why this is correct
FSx for Lustre is built for high-performance computing and provides the sub-millisecond latencies and high throughput needed by HPC clusters. Its parallel file system architecture allows multiple compute nodes to read and write large datasets concurrently, making it the industry standard for HPC workloads running on AWS cloud infrastructure.
- ✗
Amazon S3 with S3 Select.
Why it's wrong here
S3 is object storage, not a file system. While S3 Select allows for efficient filtering of data, it does not provide the random access or POSIX-compliant file system performance required by HPC applications. HPC clusters need a file system that supports direct, high-speed read/write operations, which S3 cannot provide.
About these practice questions
This SAA-C03 question is part of Courseiva's 149-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Amazon Web Services exam blueprint
This SAA-C03 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 SAA-C03 exam.