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Question 354 of 1,040

Design Cost-Optimized Architectures →hardMultiple SelectObjective-mapped

Quick Answer

The answer is a Compute Savings Plan for the API fleet and EC2 Spot Instances with checkpointing for the batch workers. A Compute Savings Plan is the right choice for the always-on API because it provides up to a 66% discount on a consistent amount of compute usage measured in dollars per hour, perfectly matching the steady 65% CPU load without locking you into a specific instance family or region. For the nightly transcoding job, Spot Instances can cut costs by up to 90%, and since the job can resume from checkpoints, it is fault-tolerant to interruptions. On the SAA-C03 exam, this scenario tests your ability to separate predictable baseline workloads from interruptible, fault-tolerant tasks—a common trap is applying Spot to the API, which would risk availability. Remember the memory tip: “Steady goes Savings, spotty goes Spot.”

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. A key principle to apply: compute Savings Plans offer discounts for consistent compute usage across EC2, Fargate, and Lambda.. 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 media company runs a 24/7 ingestion API on EC2 behind an Application Load Balancer and a nightly transcoding job that can resume from checkpoints. The API fleet runs at roughly 65 percent CPU all day, while the batch workers sit idle most of the time. The company wants to cut compute cost without risking the API. Which two changes should they make? Select two.

Question 1hardmulti select

Full question →

A
Purchase a Compute Savings Plan for the always-on API fleet.
Correct. Compute Savings Plans discount steady usage across EC2 and other compute services without forcing a specific instance family. The API has predictable 24/7 demand, so a commitment fits the usage pattern and lowers cost safely.
B
Move the transcoding workers to EC2 Spot Instances and checkpoint progress.
Correct. Spot Instances are the best fit for interruptible, restartable batch work. Checkpointing limits the impact of interruption, so the company can absorb Spot interruptions while paying substantially less than On-Demand capacity.
C
Replace the API fleet with Dedicated Hosts to lock in lower rates.
Why wrong: Incorrect. Dedicated Hosts are primarily for licensing or isolation requirements, not cost reduction. They are usually more expensive and do not solve the cost problem for a steady web API.
D
Buy Standard Reserved Instances for the batch workers and keep them running 24/7.
Why wrong: Incorrect. Reserved Instances assume predictable long-running usage, but the batch workers are mostly idle. Paying for always-on capacity defeats the purpose of cost optimization for this workload.
E
Increase the worker Auto Scaling minimum to prevent Spot interruptions.
Why wrong: Incorrect. Raising the minimum keeps more capacity running continuously and increases cost. It also does not eliminate Spot interruptions, so it undermines the savings goal.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

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

✓

Purchase a Compute Savings Plan for the always-on API fleet.

A is correct because a Compute Savings Plan offers the largest discount (up to 66%) in exchange for a 1- or 3-year commitment to a consistent amount of compute usage (measured in $/hour), which perfectly matches the always-on API fleet that runs at a steady 65% CPU utilization. This plan applies to any EC2 instance family, region, or compute service (including Fargate and Lambda), giving flexibility while reducing costs for the predictable baseline load.

Key principle: Compute Savings Plans offer discounts for consistent compute usage across EC2, Fargate, and Lambda.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

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

✓
Purchase a Compute Savings Plan for the always-on API fleet.
Why this is correct
Correct. Compute Savings Plans discount steady usage across EC2 and other compute services without forcing a specific instance family. The API has predictable 24/7 demand, so a commitment fits the usage pattern and lowers cost safely.
Related concept
Compute Savings Plans offer discounts for consistent compute usage across EC2, Fargate, and Lambda.
✓
Move the transcoding workers to EC2 Spot Instances and checkpoint progress.
Why this is correct
Correct. Spot Instances are the best fit for interruptible, restartable batch work. Checkpointing limits the impact of interruption, so the company can absorb Spot interruptions while paying substantially less than On-Demand capacity.
Related concept
Compute Savings Plans offer discounts for consistent compute usage across EC2, Fargate, and Lambda.
✗
Replace the API fleet with Dedicated Hosts to lock in lower rates.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Dedicated Hosts are primarily for licensing or isolation requirements, not cost reduction. They are usually more expensive and do not solve the cost problem for a steady web API.
✗
Buy Standard Reserved Instances for the batch workers and keep them running 24/7.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Reserved Instances assume predictable long-running usage, but the batch workers are mostly idle. Paying for always-on capacity defeats the purpose of cost optimization for this workload.
✗
Increase the worker Auto Scaling minimum to prevent Spot interruptions.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Raising the minimum keeps more capacity running continuously and increases cost. It also does not eliminate Spot interruptions, so it undermines the savings goal.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates often confuse Savings Plans with Reserved Instances, or assume Dedicated Hosts are a cost-saving measure, when in fact they are a premium isolation feature; the key is recognizing that Spot Instances are ideal for fault-tolerant, checkpointable batch workloads, while a Compute Savings Plan covers the predictable baseline without locking into a specific instance type.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

Compute Savings Plans apply to any EC2 instance family, region, or compute service (including Fargate and Lambda), making them ideal for heterogeneous or evolving fleets. Spot Instances can be interrupted with a 2-minute warning via the EC2 Instance Termination Notices (via the instance metadata endpoint at http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/spot/termination-time), and checkpointing allows the transcoding job to resume from the last saved state, avoiding data loss. The combination of a Savings Plan for the steady-state API and Spot for the bursty, fault-tolerant batch work is a classic cost-optimization pattern.

KKey Concepts to Remember

Compute Savings Plans offer discounts for consistent compute usage across EC2, Fargate, and Lambda.
Savings Plans require a 1-year or 3-year commitment to a specific hourly spend.
EC2 Spot Instances provide significant discounts for fault-tolerant, flexible workloads.
Spot Instances can be interrupted by AWS with a two-minute warning.

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

Compute Savings Plans offer discounts for consistent compute usage across EC2, Fargate, and Lambda.

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.

Review compute Savings Plans offer discounts for consistent compute usage across EC2, Fargate, and Lambda., then practise related SAA-C03 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this SAA-C03 question test?

Design Cost-Optimized Architectures — This question tests Design Cost-Optimized Architectures — Compute Savings Plans offer discounts for consistent compute usage across EC2, Fargate, and Lambda..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Purchase a Compute Savings Plan for the always-on API fleet. — A is correct because a Compute Savings Plan offers the largest discount (up to 66%) in exchange for a 1- or 3-year commitment to a consistent amount of compute usage (measured in $/hour), which perfectly matches the always-on API fleet that runs at a steady 65% CPU utilization. This plan applies to any EC2 instance family, region, or compute service (including Fargate and Lambda), giving flexibility while reducing costs for the predictable baseline load.

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

Review compute Savings Plans offer discounts for consistent compute usage across EC2, Fargate, and Lambda., then practise related SAA-C03 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Compute Savings Plans offer discounts for consistent compute usage across EC2, Fargate, and Lambda.

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Same concept, more angles

1 more ways this is tested on SAA-C03

These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.

Variation 1. A media company runs a 24/7 ingestion API on EC2 behind an Application Load Balancer and a nightly transcoding job that can resume from checkpoints. The API fleet runs at roughly 65 percent CPU all day, while the batch workers sit idle most of the time. The company wants to cut compute cost without risking the API. Which two changes should they make? Select two.

hard

✓ A.Purchase a Compute Savings Plan for the always-on API fleet.
✓ B.Move the transcoding workers to EC2 Spot Instances and checkpoint progress.
C.Replace the API fleet with Dedicated Hosts to lock in lower rates.
D.Buy Standard Reserved Instances for the batch workers and keep them running 24/7.
E.Increase the worker Auto Scaling minimum to prevent Spot interruptions.

Why A: A is correct because a Compute Savings Plan offers the largest discount (up to 66%) in exchange for a 1- or 3-year commitment to a consistent amount of compute usage (measured in $/hour), regardless of instance family, region, or OS. The API fleet runs at a steady 65% CPU 24/7, making it an ideal candidate for this flexible, cost-saving commitment without locking into a specific instance type.

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