SAA-C03 Design Cost-Optimized Architectures Practice Question
A test environment runs on x86 EC2 instances and uses open-source software with no architecture-specific licensing restriction. What should be evaluated to reduce compute cost?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers assume all cost optimization involves reducing instance size or using Spot Instances, but the question specifically tests knowledge of architecture-specific cost savings with Graviton when no licensing restrictions exist.
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
✓
AWS Graviton-based instances after performance testing
AWS Graviton-based instances (e.g., M6g, C6g) use Arm-based custom AWS silicon, offering up to 40% better price-performance compared to comparable x86 instances for many workloads. Since the test environment runs open-source software with no architecture-specific licensing restrictions, migrating to Graviton after performance testing can significantly reduce compute costs without compatibility issues.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Cross-Region data replication for all data
Why it's wrong here
Cross-Region replication for all test data would not cut compute spend; it adds per-GB data transfer fees for the initial copy and each subsequent sync, plus duplicate storage costs in the destination region. A test environment rarely needs disaster-recovery-level redundancy, so this option only inflates the bill without affecting the EC2 instance cost that the question is trying to reduce.
- ✓
AWS Graviton-based instances after performance testing
Why this is correct
AWS Graviton-based instances, such as m6g, c6g, and r6g, are built on the Arm architecture and typically offer up to 20% better price-performance than comparable x86 instances. The catch is that your application and its dependencies must be compiled or runnable on Arm, so performance testing is essential to confirm compatibility and measure actual throughput, latency, and cost-per-request before migrating the test environment.
- ✗
io2 Block Express volumes for all instances
Why it's wrong here
io2 Block Express volumes are a high-end, Provisioned IOPS EBS storage type designed for I/O-intensive workloads like large databases that need sustained, low-latency performance. Attaching such expensive volumes to all test instances, including web servers or application tiers that are not storage-bound, wastes money on unused IOPS and storage capacity; a general-purpose gp3 volume would meet the needs of most test workloads at a fraction of the cost.
- ✗
Dedicated Hosts by default
Why it's wrong here
Dedicated Hosts are billed per host, not per instance, and they are intended for scenarios like meeting server-bound software licensing requirements or addressing strict compliance and isolation needs. Adopting Dedicated Hosts as a default actually increases cost substantially compared to shared tenancy or Dedicated Instances, and a test environment rarely benefits from the additional overhead, so this is a step in the wrong direction for cost optimization.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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