Question 1mediummulti select
Full question →mediummulti selectObjective-mapped
An internal rendering job runs on EC2 workers in an Auto Scaling group. Each job writes checkpoints every few minutes to S3 and can resume from the latest checkpoint after an interruption. The queue depth varies sharply, and the team wants the lowest possible compute cost. Which two changes should they make? 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
Best answer
Run the worker fleet on EC2 Spot Instances.
Spot Instances usually provide the lowest EC2 compute price and fit workloads that can tolerate interruption. Because the job checkpoints to S3, the application can resume after Spot interruptions without losing all progress.
B
Distractor review
Purchase Dedicated Hosts so the fleet keeps physical servers reserved for the workload.
Dedicated Hosts add isolation and license control, but they are typically far more expensive than flexible capacity options. They are not the best choice when the primary goal is minimizing cost.
C
Best answer
Use a Mixed Instances Policy with several compatible instance types and Spot capacity-optimized allocation.
Diversifying instance types improves the chance that Auto Scaling can obtain cheap Spot capacity. A mixed policy also reduces the risk of a single instance type shortage stopping the job fleet.
D
Distractor review
Run the entire fleet on On-Demand Instances to avoid any interruption risk.
On-Demand is simpler, but it costs more than Spot and does not address the requirement to minimize compute spend. The scenario already states the workload can recover from interruption.
E
Distractor review
Move the workers to AWS Outposts to keep compute close to the data.
Outposts is useful for hybrid locality or on-premises requirements, but it is not a cost-minimization choice for a cloud batch workload. It adds infrastructure commitment instead of lowering the bill.
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: Run the worker fleet on EC2 Spot Instances. — Spot Instances are the most cost-effective choice for interruption-tolerant EC2 workers, and the checkpoint design makes that practical. A Mixed Instances Policy with several instance types further improves availability of Spot capacity and helps the Auto Scaling group keep scaling during demand spikes. Together, these changes reduce compute cost while preserving job progress after interruptions. Why others are wrong: Dedicated Hosts and On-Demand Instances both increase cost relative to the interruption-tolerant design in the scenario. Outposts is a hybrid infrastructure choice, not a cost-optimization tactic for a cloud batch fleet. The job already tolerates interruption, so paying for guaranteed capacity is unnecessary.
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.