SAA-C03 Design Resilient Architectures Practice Question
A startup runs a small internal tool on a single Amazon EC2 instance that uses an instance store volume for its database files. After a routine host maintenance event, the instance rebooted and the database was empty. The team wants the data to persist independently of the instance lifecycle and to survive a stop-and-start of the instance. What should they change?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that any storage attached to an instance survives a host event, when instance store is explicitly ephemeral.
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
✓
Move the database files to an Amazon EBS volume attached to the instance.
Instance store volumes are physically attached to the host and their contents are lost when the host stops, fails, or is replaced during maintenance. Amazon EBS volumes live separately from the instance and retain data across stop and start, making them the correct storage layer for a database that must persist. The other options address compute lifecycle or monitoring rather than data durability.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Enable termination protection on the instance and take an AMI of the instance before each maintenance window.
Why it's wrong here
Termination protection only blocks accidental termination API calls and does nothing to preserve data during host maintenance or reboot. An AMI captures the root volume state at a point in time, so any writes after the snapshot are lost. Neither mechanism provides the continuous persistence the database requires.
- ✗
Increase the size of the instance store volume and enable detailed monitoring on the instance.
Why it's wrong here
Instance store size is fixed by the instance type and cannot be increased independently, and instance store data is ephemeral by design. Detailed monitoring improves metric granularity but has no effect on data durability. This option leaves the database just as vulnerable to the next host event.
- ✓
Move the database files to an Amazon EBS volume attached to the instance.
Why this is correct
Amazon EBS volumes are network-attached block storage that persists independently of the instance and remains available across stop and start operations within the same Availability Zone. Data is retained when the host is replaced, which directly fixes the loss the team observed. This is the standard persistent storage choice for EC2 databases.
- ✗
Place the instance in an Auto Scaling group with a minimum capacity of one so it is relaunched after maintenance.
Why it's wrong here
An Auto Scaling group replaces instances, but a replacement instance starts from the launch template with an empty instance store. The database files would not be restored, so the data loss repeats. Auto Scaling addresses availability of compute, not persistence of local data.
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Amazon Web Services exam blueprint
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