SAA-C03 Design High-Performing Architectures Practice Question
This SAA-C03 practice question tests your understanding of design high-performing architectures. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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.
Exhibit
CloudFront access log sample:
2026-04-18T09:12:41Z LAX1 1234 Miss GET d111111abcdef8.cloudfront.net /app/v42/main.8f3d2.js 200 - Mozilla/5.0 Authorization=Bearer eyJhbGciOi...
2026-04-18T09:12:42Z LAX1 1235 Miss GET d111111abcdef8.cloudfront.net /app/v42/vendor.9c1a0.css 200 - Mozilla/5.0 Authorization=Bearer eyJhbGciOi...
Distribution behavior summary:
- Origin: S3 bucket
- Cache policy: legacy default
- Origin request policy: forwards all headers, cookies, and query strings
- Objects are immutable after release and have content-hash file names
Based on the exhibit, a media company serves versioned JavaScript and CSS files from an Amazon S3 origin through CloudFront. After a frontend release, the cache hit ratio dropped sharply even though the file names are versioned. The application team says the browser requests include the same Authorization header on every asset request because the frontend and API share one domain. What should the solutions architect do to improve CloudFront cache hit ratio without changing the application authentication model for the API?
CloudFront access log sample:
2026-04-18T09:12:41Z LAX1 1234 Miss GET d111111abcdef8.cloudfront.net /app/v42/main.8f3d2.js 200 - Mozilla/5.0 Authorization=Bearer eyJhbGciOi...
2026-04-18T09:12:42Z LAX1 1235 Miss GET d111111abcdef8.cloudfront.net /app/v42/vendor.9c1a0.css 200 - Mozilla/5.0 Authorization=Bearer eyJhbGciOi...
Distribution behavior summary:
- Origin: S3 bucket
- Cache policy: legacy default
- Origin request policy: forwards all headers, cookies, and query strings
- Objects are immutable after release and have content-hash file names
A
Enable S3 Transfer Acceleration on the bucket so CloudFront fetches objects faster from the origin.
Why wrong: Transfer Acceleration can speed uploads to S3, but it does not improve CloudFront cache-key efficiency or reduce misses.
B
Create a CloudFront cache policy that excludes Authorization, cookies, and unnecessary query strings from the cache key.
This reduces cache fragmentation because CloudFront can reuse the same cached object for many viewers. Since the assets are immutable and versioned, the Authorization header is not needed to vary the cache for these files. Keeping API authentication separate preserves the application model while improving hit ratio.
C
Switch the origin from S3 to an Application Load Balancer so CloudFront can cache dynamic responses more effectively.
Why wrong: An ALB origin is useful for dynamic applications, but it does not solve the cache-busting header issue for static assets.
D
Configure CloudFront to forward every viewer header to the origin so the origin can decide whether the content is cacheable.
Why wrong: Forwarding more headers usually makes cache hit ratio worse because more unique request variations are cached separately.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create a CloudFront cache policy that excludes Authorization, cookies, and unnecessary query strings from the cache key.
The sharp drop in cache hit ratio is caused by the Authorization header being included in the cache key, which makes each request unique even though the file names are versioned. By creating a CloudFront cache policy that excludes the Authorization header (and unnecessary cookies/query strings) from the cache key, CloudFront can serve cached responses to requests with different Authorization headers, restoring the cache hit ratio without altering the application's authentication model for the API.
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.
✗
Enable S3 Transfer Acceleration on the bucket so CloudFront fetches objects faster from the origin.
Why it's wrong here
Transfer Acceleration can speed uploads to S3, but it does not improve CloudFront cache-key efficiency or reduce misses.
✓
Create a CloudFront cache policy that excludes Authorization, cookies, and unnecessary query strings from the cache key.
Why this is correct
This reduces cache fragmentation because CloudFront can reuse the same cached object for many viewers. Since the assets are immutable and versioned, the Authorization header is not needed to vary the cache for these files. Keeping API authentication separate preserves the application model while improving hit ratio.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Switch the origin from S3 to an Application Load Balancer so CloudFront can cache dynamic responses more effectively.
Why it's wrong here
An ALB origin is useful for dynamic applications, but it does not solve the cache-busting header issue for static assets.
✗
Configure CloudFront to forward every viewer header to the origin so the origin can decide whether the content is cacheable.
Why it's wrong here
Forwarding more headers usually makes cache hit ratio worse because more unique request variations are cached separately.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may think the Authorization header is required for caching or that forwarding all headers is safe, but in reality, including it in the cache key destroys cache efficiency for static assets, and the correct solution is to exclude it via a cache policy.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
CloudFront cache keys are built from the request's origin, protocol, HTTP method, and any headers, cookies, or query strings specified in the cache policy. By default, CloudFront includes the Authorization header in the cache key, which causes different users (with different tokens) to get separate cache entries even for identical static assets. A custom cache policy that excludes Authorization allows CloudFront to serve the same cached object to all users, leveraging the versioned filenames to ensure correctness. This approach aligns with HTTP caching best practices where authentication headers should not affect cacheability of public static content.
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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Design High-Performing Architectures — This question tests Design High-Performing Architectures — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create a CloudFront cache policy that excludes Authorization, cookies, and unnecessary query strings from the cache key. — The sharp drop in cache hit ratio is caused by the Authorization header being included in the cache key, which makes each request unique even though the file names are versioned. By creating a CloudFront cache policy that excludes the Authorization header (and unnecessary cookies/query strings) from the cache key, CloudFront can serve cached responses to requests with different Authorization headers, restoring the cache hit ratio without altering the application's authentication model for the API.
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.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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