Question 1mediummulti select
Full question →mediummulti selectObjective-mapped
A startup runs two EC2-based workloads in the same AWS Region. Its customer-facing API is always on, and its nightly video transcoding fleet can restart jobs from checkpoints if an instance is interrupted. The finance team wants the lowest monthly compute cost without changing the application design. Which two actions should the team take? Select two.
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
Distractor review
Purchase an All Upfront Reserved Instance for the transcoding fleet only.
Reserved Instances fit steady, predictable usage, but this batch fleet is interruption-tolerant and variable.
B
Best answer
Buy a Compute Savings Plan to cover the always-on API baseline usage.
Savings Plans reduce cost for consistent compute usage and are well suited to the always-on API.
C
Best answer
Run the transcoding fleet on Spot Instances because interrupted jobs can resume from checkpoints.
Spot Instances are ideal for flexible batch processing when interruptions are acceptable and checkpointing exists.
D
Distractor review
Increase the API instance size so CPU utilization stays below 30 percent.
Larger instances raise cost; right sizing should reduce waste, not add extra unused capacity.
E
Distractor review
Move the API tier to Dedicated Hosts to improve isolation and lower spend.
Dedicated Hosts usually increase cost and are used for licensing or compliance, not savings.
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: Buy a Compute Savings Plan to cover the always-on API baseline usage. — The best cost-optimized combination is to use a Compute Savings Plan for the always-on API and Spot Instances for the checkpointable transcoding fleet. Savings Plans provide lower pricing for steady, predictable compute consumption without locking you into a specific instance family. Spot Instances are the cheapest option for interruption-tolerant batch jobs, especially when the workload can resume from checkpoints after termination. Together, these choices match spending to actual usage and avoid paying On-Demand rates where they are unnecessary. Why others are wrong: Reserved Instances are best for stable, long-running usage, but the transcoding fleet is interruption-tolerant and better suited to Spot. Increasing instance size does not optimize cost if the current fleet is already underutilized; it makes the problem worse. Dedicated Hosts are generally a premium option for isolation or licensing needs, not a cost-reduction strategy. The correct answers specifically align each workload with the cheapest purchasing model that still meets operational requirements.
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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