SAA-C03 Design High-Performing Architectures Practice Question
A latency-sensitive video platform uploads large files to S3 from users around the world. Which two features can improve upload performance? The architecture review board prefers a managed AWS-native control.
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse S3 Transfer Acceleration with CloudFront or think multipart upload is only for reliability, not performance, while overlooking that both features are managed AWS-native controls that directly address latency and throughput for large file uploads.
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
✓
S3 Transfer Acceleration
S3 Transfer Acceleration (B) uses AWS edge locations to accelerate uploads over long distances by routing traffic through the AWS global network, reducing latency and packet loss compared to the public internet. Multipart upload (C) improves performance by splitting large files into smaller parts that can be uploaded in parallel, increasing throughput and allowing retries of individual parts without restarting the entire upload.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
S3 Object Lock
Why it's wrong here
Object Lock enforces WORM retention and legal holds on objects; it does not accelerate transfer or reduce latency for global uploads. It is tempting because it is a managed S3-native control, which matches the board's preference, but it addresses compliance immutability rather than upload throughput.
- ✓
S3 Transfer Acceleration
Why this is correct
Transfer Acceleration routes uploads through AWS edge locations to the nearest S3 endpoint over AWS's optimised backbone, cutting latency for globally distributed users. It is fully AWS-managed, meeting the review board's AWS-native constraint while improving worldwide upload performance.
- ✓
S3 multipart upload
Why this is correct
Multipart upload splits large files into parts uploaded in parallel, raising throughput and reducing the time to transfer each object. It is an AWS-native S3 feature requiring no third-party tooling, satisfying the review board's managed, AWS-native constraint for large-file uploads.
- ✗
S3 Inventory
Why it's wrong here
S3 Inventory produces scheduled CSV or Parquet reports listing objects and metadata; it performs no data transfer and cannot reduce upload latency. It is tempting because it is a managed AWS-native S3 feature, satisfying the board's preference, yet it serves auditing and reconciliation, not performance.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
Go deeper
Related to this question
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.