A containerized service fleet running on EC2 instances needs to share user-uploaded files and access them with low latency. The workload is bursty: sometimes dozens of instances concurrently read the same directory for short periods, and then traffic drops. Which Amazon EFS configuration best matches these performance needs?

Use Amazon EFS Max I/O performance mode with Throughput mode set to Provisioned.

Max I/O is intended for workloads that sustain very high IOPS (for example, many small, random reads/writes and heavy metadata operations). Provisioned throughput requires you to select a throughput level appropriate for sustained demand; for bursty traffic, this can lead to either throttling during spikes (if set too low) or unnecessary cost when traffic is low.

Use Amazon EFS General Purpose performance mode with Throughput mode set to Provisioned.

General Purpose mode fits low-latency workloads, but Provisioned throughput ties performance to a fixed throughput setting. With bursty spikes and lower baseline demand, you must provision enough throughput for the spikes or risk throttling during the periods of concurrent reads, and you may overpay during off-peak periods.

Use Amazon EFS Max I/O performance mode with Throughput mode set to Bursting.

While Bursting can handle throughput spikes, Max I/O can be unnecessarily optimized/costly for workloads that are not primarily sustained high IOPS or metadata-heavy. For bursty directory reads with varying read patterns, General Purpose plus Bursting is the best fit to balance latency and elasticity without over-optimizing for sustained IOPS.

What does this SAA-C03 question test?

Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Use Amazon EFS General Purpose performance mode and Throughput mode set to Bursting. — The workload is bursty, with many instances concurrently reading for short periods and then dropping. EFS General Purpose mode targets latency-sensitive file access across typical I/O patterns, and Throughput mode Bursting provides baseline throughput with the ability to increase during spikes. This best matches the elasticity required without requiring provisioning for peak throughput at all times. Option B uses Max I/O and provisioned throughput, which can be mismatched to bursty traffic patterns and may require provisioning for sustained peak demand. Option C keeps General Purpose but uses provisioned throughput, which can either throttle during spikes (if under-provisioned) or cost more during off-peak. Option D uses Max I/O, which is more appropriate for sustained high IOPS/metadata workloads; it is generally not the most efficient match for this described bursty directory read scenario.

What should I do if I get this SAA-C03 question wrong?

Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.