Question 1easymultiple choice
Full question →easymultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A team runs a latency-sensitive service on EC2 and needs consistent, low-latency block storage for a database. The application requires predictable performance and should be fast for random reads/writes. Which EBS volume type is the best choice?
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
EBS st1 (throughput optimized HDD)
st1 targets throughput for workloads and is HDD-based, often with higher latency than modern general-purpose SSD. Random read/write latency consistency may not meet a strict low-latency requirement. It is usually better for larger sequential throughput needs.
B
Best answer
EBS gp3 (general purpose SSD)
gp3 is designed for a broad range of general-purpose workloads with solid low-latency performance. It supports random I/O patterns and offers predictable performance for many latency-sensitive applications. It is a common best-fit choice when you need balanced performance without specialized throughput-focused characteristics.
C
Distractor review
EBS sc1 (cold HDD)
sc1 is intended for infrequent access and is typically not appropriate for latency-sensitive random I/O. Cold HDD volumes prioritize cost over performance. It can increase latency variance, which would hurt interactive database workloads.
D
Distractor review
EBS magnetic (legacy magnetic)
Magnetic volumes are generally legacy and provide poor performance for random, latency-sensitive operations. They are not suitable for predictable low-latency database storage. Modern EBS SSD options like gp3 are the recommended alternative.
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.
Related practice questions
Related SAA-C03 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
SAA-C03 VPC practice questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 VPC.
SAA-C03 S3 lifecycle policy questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 S3 lifecycle policy questions.
SAA-C03 RDS Multi-AZ questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 RDS Multi-AZ questions.
SAA-C03 IAM policy practice questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 IAM policy.
SAA-C03 Route 53 failover questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 Route 53 failover questions.
SAA-C03 CloudFront practice questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 CloudFront.
SAA-C03 NAT gateway questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 NAT gateway questions.
SAA-C03 VPC endpoint questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 VPC endpoint questions.
SAA-C03 Auto Scaling practice questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 Auto Scaling.
SAA-C03 disaster recovery questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 disaster recovery questions.
SAA-C03 high availability questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 high availability questions.
SAA-C03 cost optimization questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 cost optimization questions.
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: EBS gp3 (general purpose SSD) — For low-latency, general-purpose block storage with random read/write workloads, gp3 is typically the best starting point. gp3 provides SSD-backed performance suited for interactive applications and databases that need consistent I/O behavior. Throughput-optimized HDD (st1) and cold HDD (sc1) are designed for different cost/performance tradeoffs and generally have higher latency for random access. Magnetic volumes are also not appropriate for modern low-latency database requirements. Why others are wrong: st1 is optimized for throughput, not consistent low latency for random I/O. sc1 is optimized for infrequent access and would likely be too slow and variable for database-like workloads. Magnetic volumes are legacy and do not meet performance needs for latency-sensitive services. gp3 best matches the required balance of predictable latency and general-purpose I/O 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.
Discussion
Loading comments…
Sign in to join the discussion.