SAA-C03 Design High-Performing Architectures Practice Question

A document portal requires consistent high IOPS for a transactional database on EC2. Which EBS volume type is most suitable?

⚠ Common exam trap

A common mix-up: candidates confuse 'high IOPS' with 'high throughput' and select st1 or sc1, not realizing that transactional databases require low-latency random I/O, which only SSD-based volumes like io2 can consistently deliver.

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

✓

Provisioned IOPS SSD such as io2

Provisioned IOPS SSD (io2) is the correct choice because it delivers consistent, high IOPS performance required for transactional databases running on EC2. io2 volumes offer a 99.999% durability and can sustain up to 256,000 IOPS per volume, making them ideal for latency-sensitive workloads like OLTP databases.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

✗
sc1 Cold HDD
Why it's wrong here
sc1 is low-cost cold storage with lower performance.
✗
Instance store only
Why it's wrong here
Instance store can be fast but is ephemeral and not generally suitable for durable databases.
✓
Provisioned IOPS SSD such as io2
Why this is correct
io2 is designed for business-critical workloads requiring consistent high IOPS and durability.
✗
st1 Throughput Optimized HDD
Why it's wrong here
st1 is for throughput-oriented sequential workloads, not high-IOPS transactional databases.

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SAA-C03 Design High-Performing Architectures Practice Question

Why each option matters

Option-by-option breakdown

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