SAA-C03 Design Cost-Optimized Architectures Practice Question
This SAA-C03 practice question tests your understanding of design cost-optimized architectures. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A internal reporting portal has old unattached EBS volumes and many stale snapshots. Which two actions reduce storage cost without affecting running instances? The architecture review board prefers a managed AWS-native control.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Delete unattached EBS volumes after verifying they are no longer needed
Option C is correct because unattached EBS volumes incur storage costs without providing any benefit to running instances. Deleting them after verification directly reduces costs while having zero impact on running workloads. Option D is correct because snapshot lifecycle policies automate the deletion of obsolete snapshots based on age or count, eliminating manual cleanup and reducing storage costs without affecting running instances.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Disable CloudTrail logging
Why it's wrong here
Disabling audit logging is not a storage cost optimization for EBS and weakens governance.
✗
Stop all EC2 instances in the account
Why it's wrong here
Stopping instances does not remove EBS volume or snapshot charges.
✓
Delete unattached EBS volumes after verifying they are no longer needed
Why this is correct
Unattached volumes continue to incur charges until deleted.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Apply snapshot lifecycle policies to expire obsolete snapshots
Why this is correct
Lifecycle policies can automate cleanup of old snapshots.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may confuse stopping instances (which stops billing for instance hours but not for EBS storage) with a cost-saving measure, or think disabling logging reduces storage costs, when the actual savings come from removing orphaned storage resources.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Unattached EBS volumes continue to incur per-GB-month charges even when not in use, as AWS bills for provisioned storage regardless of attachment status. Snapshot lifecycle policies (DLM) use CloudWatch Events to trigger automated deletion of snapshots based on retention rules, reducing costs by removing outdated backups that are no longer needed for recovery or compliance.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Design Cost-Optimized Architectures — This question tests Design Cost-Optimized Architectures — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Delete unattached EBS volumes after verifying they are no longer needed — Option C is correct because unattached EBS volumes incur storage costs without providing any benefit to running instances. Deleting them after verification directly reduces costs while having zero impact on running workloads. Option D is correct because snapshot lifecycle policies automate the deletion of obsolete snapshots based on age or count, eliminating manual cleanup and reducing storage costs without affecting running instances.
What should I do if I get this SAA-C03 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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