Question 1mediummulti select
Full question →mediummulti selectObjective-mapped
A distributed analytics platform runs on 12 EC2 instances in one Availability Zone. The nodes exchange a very high volume of east-west messages and the team wants the lowest possible network latency between instances. Which two changes should the architect make first? Select two.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
A
Best answer
Place the instances in a cluster placement group so AWS keeps them physically close together.
Cluster placement groups are intended for tightly coupled workloads that need low network latency and high throughput between instances. AWS places the instances on hardware that is physically close within the AZ, which improves east-west communication.
B
Best answer
Use instance types that support enhanced networking with the Elastic Network Adapter (ENA).
ENA-capable instance types provide higher packet-per-second performance, lower jitter, and better overall network efficiency than older virtual networking paths. For chatty distributed systems, that can materially improve latency and throughput.
C
Distractor review
Spread the instances across multiple Availability Zones to reduce the chance of correlated failure.
Multi-AZ placement improves resilience, but it increases network distance and adds cross-AZ latency and data transfer cost. That is the opposite of the goal in a latency-sensitive compute cluster.
D
Distractor review
Use a spread placement group so each instance lands on different underlying hardware.
Spread placement groups are designed for fault isolation, not for keeping instances close together. They can reduce blast radius, but they do not optimize for the lowest possible intra-cluster latency.
E
Distractor review
Move the workload to burstable T-series instances to absorb short traffic spikes economically.
Burstable instances are cost-effective for variable CPU usage, but they do not specifically improve network latency or east-west messaging performance. The scenario is about inter-instance communication speed, not CPU burstability.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
- PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
- Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
- NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
- Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
- Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
- Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
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: Place the instances in a cluster placement group so AWS keeps them physically close together. — The best first changes are to place the fleet in a cluster placement group and use instances with ENA support. The cluster placement group reduces physical distance between instances so packets travel a shorter path within the Availability Zone. ENA improves the network interface path itself by increasing packet-per-second capability and lowering latency. Together, these choices directly optimize the workload for fast instance-to-instance communication. Multi-AZ and spread placement groups improve availability and fault isolation, but they introduce more network separation and do not help latency-sensitive east-west traffic. Burstable T-series instances help with short CPU spikes, not with network performance. The scenario is explicitly about keeping distributed nodes as close and as fast as possible on the network path.
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.
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