Question 1hardmulti select
Full question →hardmulti selectObjective-mapped
A rendering service runs on a single EC2 instance and writes a large working set of metadata to disk using sustained random reads and writes. The data must persist across stops and restarts, and the team sees queue depth spikes when the job reaches peak throughput. Which changes should the team make? Select three.
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
Use an Amazon EBS io2 volume with provisioned IOPS for the metadata store.
Correct because io2 is designed for high, sustained IOPS with low latency. Provisioned IOPS is the right control when random disk activity, not capacity, is the bottleneck.
B
Best answer
Run the workload on a Nitro-based, EBS-optimized instance that has enough EBS bandwidth.
Correct because even a fast volume can be limited by the instance’s EBS throughput. A sufficiently sized Nitro instance prevents the compute host from becoming the performance ceiling.
C
Best answer
Place the EC2 instance and the EBS volume in the same Availability Zone.
Correct because EBS volumes are AZ-scoped. The instance and its volume must be in the same AZ, and keeping them aligned avoids architectural mistakes and unnecessary migrations.
D
Distractor review
Move the working set to Amazon EFS because it automatically stripes across Availability Zones.
Incorrect because EFS is a shared file system, not a low-latency block volume. It can be great for shared access, but it is not the best fit for sustained random block I/O on one instance.
E
Distractor review
Store the metadata in Amazon S3 because object storage is cheaper and supports random writes.
Incorrect because S3 is object storage, not a low-latency random-write block store. It is unsuitable for metadata that is updated frequently and accessed with disk-like semantics.
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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More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
A team needs to distribute TCP traffic (not HTTP) across multiple services. The services must see the original client source IP for auditing. Which AWS load balancer is the best fit?
Question 2
A team wants to run containerized services with AWS-managed orchestration and autoscaling. They do NOT require Kubernetes compatibility. Which AWS service choice is most appropriate to meet these goals?
Question 3
A solutions architect is designing an S3 bucket for a IoT ingestion API. The objects must never be publicly accessible, even if a developer later adds an overly broad bucket policy. What should the architect configure? The design must avoid adding custom operational scripts.
Question 4
A solutions architect is designing an S3 bucket for a claims portal. The objects must never be publicly accessible, even if a developer later adds an overly broad bucket policy. What should the architect configure?
Question 5
A team wants to delegate IAM management to developers, but must ensure developers can never grant themselves permissions beyond a specific limit. Which AWS mechanism best matches this requirement?
Question 6
A solutions architect is designing an S3 bucket for a healthcare document service. The objects must never be publicly accessible, even if a developer later adds an overly broad bucket policy. What should the architect configure?
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: Use an Amazon EBS io2 volume with provisioned IOPS for the metadata store. — For sustained random I/O, the design should use provisioned IOPS block storage on a capable host. An io2 volume provides the needed IOPS profile, a Nitro EBS-optimized instance ensures the host can actually drive that performance, and the instance-volume AZ alignment is mandatory for EBS. These choices directly address the workload’s latency and throughput requirements while preserving data across restarts. EFS is a shared file system rather than a single-instance low-latency block device, and S3 is object storage with very different access semantics. Neither is appropriate for hot metadata with random update patterns.
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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