Question 1easymultiple choice
Full question →easymultiple choiceObjective-mapped
An internal API is hosted in two AWS Regions behind Route 53. Under normal conditions, clients should use the primary region. If the primary endpoint becomes unhealthy, traffic must automatically switch to the secondary region. Which Route 53 setup best meets this requirement?
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
Use latency-based routing with one record per region and no health checks.
Latency routing distributes traffic based on observed latency and does not guarantee deterministic failover to a single healthy region when the primary becomes unhealthy.
B
Best answer
Use failover routing policy: create two alias records for the same name (primary and failover) and associate health checks with the primary record.
Route 53 failover routing is designed for deterministic primary/secondary switching based on health check status. When the primary health check fails, Route 53 automatically returns the secondary region endpoint.
C
Distractor review
Use weighted routing and manually change the weights during incidents.
Weighted routing does not automatically react to health checks in a deterministic primary/secondary manner. Manual weight changes introduce operational overhead and delays.
D
Distractor review
Create a single alias record only for the primary region and rely on client-side DNS retries.
A single record cannot automatically switch to the secondary endpoint. Client behavior and DNS TTL caching can delay or prevent timely failover.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
- Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
- Underline the problem statement mentally.
- 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.
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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
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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?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use failover routing policy: create two alias records for the same name (primary and failover) and associate health checks with the primary record. — Use Route 53 failover routing with health checks. Configure two alias records for the same DNS name: one record marked as the primary target and one marked as the failover (secondary) target. Attach health checks to the primary target. Route 53 evaluates the health status and returns the primary record while it is healthy; when the primary endpoint is unhealthy, Route 53 automatically switches resolution to the secondary endpoint—meeting the requirement for automatic regional failover without manual configuration changes. A is wrong because latency routing does not provide guaranteed failover based on health. C is wrong because weighted routing requires manual intervention and is not inherently tied to health check status. D is wrong because only advertising the primary endpoint prevents automatic server-side switching; it shifts reliability to clients and DNS caching behavior.
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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