- A
Increase the ALB size and add more target instances behind it.
Why wrong: Scaling the ALB and application servers may help capacity, but it does not reduce round-trip distance for global users or cache static content closer to them. The origin would still receive most requests, so latency and origin load remain higher than necessary. This treats the symptom rather than the architecture problem.
- B
Use Route 53 latency-based routing to send users to the nearest ALB.
Why wrong: Latency-based routing can direct users to different regional endpoints, but it does not provide edge caching for static assets. Every request would still traverse to an origin, which means the ALB continues to handle far more traffic than needed. It also adds complexity that is unnecessary when a caching CDN can solve both latency and load reduction.
- C
Place Amazon CloudFront in front of the ALB and enable compression and caching.
CloudFront is the right choice because it caches static content at edge locations close to users, reducing latency and lowering the number of requests that reach the ALB. It also supports compression for text-based assets such as CSS, JavaScript, and HTML. This improves both performance and origin offload without changing the application logic.
- D
Replace the ALB with an NLB to reduce latency for web requests.
Why wrong: An NLB is excellent for TCP and ultra-high throughput use cases, but it is not the best service for HTTP content optimization, path-based behavior, or caching static assets. The workload described is web content delivery, where edge caching and compression matter more than load-balancer protocol flexibility. NLB also does not reduce origin requests the way a CDN can.
Quick Answer
The answer is to place Amazon CloudFront in front of the ALB and enable compression and caching. CloudFront acts as a content delivery network that caches cacheable assets like images, CSS, and JavaScript at edge locations closer to users in Europe and Asia, which directly reduces the load on the ALB and improves page load times. It also automatically compresses text assets using gzip or Brotli without requiring backend changes, solving the need for compressed text while offloading the unexpectedly high request volume from the origin. On the SAA-C03 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of CloudFront as a first-step solution for reducing origin load and improving global performance, with a common trap being to jump straight to scaling the ALB or enabling ALB compression instead. Remember the key tip: CloudFront caches static content and compresses text at the edge, so always think “edge first” before touching the origin.
SAA-C03 Design Secure Architectures Practice Question
This SAA-C03 practice question tests your understanding of design secure 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 website serves mostly cacheable images, CSS, and JavaScript from an ALB. Users in Europe and Asia report slower page loads, and the ALB receives far more requests than expected. The team also wants text assets compressed automatically. Which change is the best first step?
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:
"first"Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
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
Place Amazon CloudFront in front of the ALB and enable compression and caching.
CloudFront is the correct first step because it acts as a CDN that caches cacheable content (images, CSS, JS) at edge locations close to users in Europe and Asia, reducing load on the ALB and improving page load times. It also supports automatic compression of text assets (e.g., via gzip or Brotli) without requiring backend changes, directly addressing the team's requirement for compressed text assets. By offloading requests from the ALB, CloudFront reduces the number of requests hitting the origin, solving the 'far more requests than expected' issue.
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.
- ✗
Increase the ALB size and add more target instances behind it.
Why it's wrong here
Scaling the ALB and application servers may help capacity, but it does not reduce round-trip distance for global users or cache static content closer to them. The origin would still receive most requests, so latency and origin load remain higher than necessary. This treats the symptom rather than the architecture problem.
- ✗
Use Route 53 latency-based routing to send users to the nearest ALB.
Why it's wrong here
Latency-based routing can direct users to different regional endpoints, but it does not provide edge caching for static assets. Every request would still traverse to an origin, which means the ALB continues to handle far more traffic than needed. It also adds complexity that is unnecessary when a caching CDN can solve both latency and load reduction.
- ✓
Place Amazon CloudFront in front of the ALB and enable compression and caching.
Why this is correct
CloudFront is the right choice because it caches static content at edge locations close to users, reducing latency and lowering the number of requests that reach the ALB. It also supports compression for text-based assets such as CSS, JavaScript, and HTML. This improves both performance and origin offload without changing the application logic.
Clue confirmation
The clue words "best", "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Replace the ALB with an NLB to reduce latency for web requests.
Why it's wrong here
An NLB is excellent for TCP and ultra-high throughput use cases, but it is not the best service for HTTP content optimization, path-based behavior, or caching static assets. The workload described is web content delivery, where edge caching and compression matter more than load-balancer protocol flexibility. NLB also does not reduce origin requests the way a CDN can.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often think scaling the ALB (Option A) or using latency-based routing (Option B) will solve performance issues, but they overlook that caching and compression at the edge (CloudFront) directly address both latency and request volume without requiring backend changes.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
CloudFront's edge locations use regional edge caches to store static content, and its origin shield feature can further reduce load on the ALB by consolidating requests. CloudFront supports both gzip and Brotli compression for text-based files (e.g., HTML, CSS, JavaScript) based on the Accept-Encoding header, and it can cache responses with Cache-Control headers, respecting TTLs set by the origin. In a real-world scenario, a global website with static assets can see a 50-80% reduction in origin requests after implementing CloudFront, significantly lowering ALB costs and improving user-perceived latency.
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
A cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
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 Secure Architectures — This question tests Design Secure Architectures — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Place Amazon CloudFront in front of the ALB and enable compression and caching. — CloudFront is the correct first step because it acts as a CDN that caches cacheable content (images, CSS, JS) at edge locations close to users in Europe and Asia, reducing load on the ALB and improving page load times. It also supports automatic compression of text assets (e.g., via gzip or Brotli) without requiring backend changes, directly addressing the team's requirement for compressed text assets. By offloading requests from the ALB, CloudFront reduces the number of requests hitting the origin, solving the 'far more requests than expected' issue.
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", "first". 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
This SAA-C03 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the SAA-C03 exam.
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