- A
Create a single Route 53 record using weighted routing across both ALBs with weights adjusted manually during an incident.
Why wrong: Weighted routing does not automatically detect health conditions and shift traffic based on impairment without manual intervention.
- B
Use Route 53 failover routing with a primary record pointing to the us-east-1 ALB and a secondary record pointing to the us-west-2 ALB, each using health checks.
Failover routing with health checks enables automatic switching of DNS responses when the primary endpoint fails health evaluation.
- C
Use latency-based routing so Route 53 always selects the fastest region; health checks are unnecessary because client latency reflects availability.
Why wrong: Latency-based routing selects based on performance, not health, and does not guarantee failover when the primary region is unhealthy.
- D
Use a single A record with a static IP address that points to a NAT gateway, and update that IP during failure events.
Why wrong: Static IPs and NAT gateways are not an appropriate mechanism for regional ALB failover, and updating during incidents is manual.
SAA-C03 Design Resilient Architectures Practice Question
This SAA-C03 practice question tests your understanding of design resilient architectures. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 SaaS platform serves an API using two regional deployments: us-east-1 (primary) and us-west-2 (secondary). Each region has its own ALB. The business requires automated DNS-based failover when the primary region becomes unhealthy, and they do not want manual DNS changes during incidents.
Which Route 53 configuration is the best match?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"best"Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Clue:
"primary"Why it matters: Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
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
Use Route 53 failover routing with a primary record pointing to the us-east-1 ALB and a secondary record pointing to the us-west-2 ALB, each using health checks.
Route 53 failover routing is designed for active-passive configurations where traffic must automatically shift to a secondary endpoint when the primary fails. By attaching health checks to the primary record (us-east-1 ALB), Route 53 can detect regional unavailability and automatically route traffic to the secondary record (us-west-2 ALB) without manual intervention. This meets the requirement for DNS-based failover without manual DNS changes during incidents.
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.
- ✗
Create a single Route 53 record using weighted routing across both ALBs with weights adjusted manually during an incident.
Why it's wrong here
Weighted routing does not automatically detect health conditions and shift traffic based on impairment without manual intervention.
- ✓
Use Route 53 failover routing with a primary record pointing to the us-east-1 ALB and a secondary record pointing to the us-west-2 ALB, each using health checks.
Why this is correct
Failover routing with health checks enables automatic switching of DNS responses when the primary endpoint fails health evaluation.
Clue confirmation
The clue words "best", "primary" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Use latency-based routing so Route 53 always selects the fastest region; health checks are unnecessary because client latency reflects availability.
Why it's wrong here
Latency-based routing selects based on performance, not health, and does not guarantee failover when the primary region is unhealthy.
- ✗
Use a single A record with a static IP address that points to a NAT gateway, and update that IP during failure events.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse latency-based routing with failover routing, assuming that lower latency implies availability, but latency routing does not incorporate health checks and cannot automatically redirect traffic away from an unhealthy region.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Route 53 failover routing relies on health checks that can monitor an endpoint (e.g., ALB) via HTTP/HTTPS or TCP. When the primary health check fails, Route 53 marks the primary record as unhealthy and returns only the secondary record's IP in DNS responses. The DNS TTL should be set low (e.g., 60 seconds) to ensure clients quickly receive the updated resolution, though client-side caching may still cause brief delays. In a real-world scenario, you might also configure the secondary region to be in a different AWS account or use a global accelerator for faster failover.
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
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SAA-C03 question test?
Design Resilient Architectures — This question tests Design Resilient Architectures — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use Route 53 failover routing with a primary record pointing to the us-east-1 ALB and a secondary record pointing to the us-west-2 ALB, each using health checks. — Route 53 failover routing is designed for active-passive configurations where traffic must automatically shift to a secondary endpoint when the primary fails. By attaching health checks to the primary record (us-east-1 ALB), Route 53 can detect regional unavailability and automatically route traffic to the secondary record (us-west-2 ALB) without manual intervention. This meets the requirement for DNS-based failover without manual DNS changes during incidents.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best", "primary". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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