Question 1hardmultiple choice
Full question →hardmultiple choiceObjective-mapped
Exhibit
Amazon EventBridge rule: - source: orders.checkout - target: Lambda function process-orders - retry policy: default CloudWatch metrics: - Invocations: 120/min - Throttles: 87/min - ApproximateAgeOfOldestEvent: 900 seconds Lambda log excerpt: 2026-04-27T18:22:41Z payment API timeout 2026-04-27T18:22:44Z retry attempt 3 failed 2026-04-27T18:22:48Z processing orderId=90118 paused Business requirement: No events should be lost during a temporary payment API outage, and the system must absorb bursts instead of failing immediately.
Based on the exhibit, downstream payment timeouts cause EventBridge deliveries to back up and some events are retried until they age out. What change best improves resilience and preserves events during downstream outages?
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
Increase the Lambda timeout so each invocation can wait longer for the payment API.
A longer timeout does not provide buffering. If the payment API remains unavailable, invocations stay occupied longer and the backlog becomes harder to drain.
B
Best answer
Put an Amazon SQS queue between EventBridge and the consumer, and have workers drain the queue with a DLQ for poison messages.
SQS is the right durability and buffering layer for this requirement. EventBridge can publish orders.checkout events to a queue, and workers can consume them at a controlled rate even when the payment API is unavailable. This decouples event ingestion from downstream processing, absorbs bursts, and preserves events until the outage ends. A DLQ provides a safe landing zone for messages that continue to fail after retries so they are not silently dropped.
C
Distractor review
Switch the target to a Lambda function with reserved concurrency of zero during outages.
Reserved concurrency of zero stops processing entirely and does not create durable buffering. It would make the backlog worse and does not satisfy the requirement to preserve events during an outage.
D
Distractor review
Replace EventBridge with CloudWatch Logs subscriptions so the consumer can poll the log stream later.
CloudWatch Logs subscriptions are not a durable application messaging pattern and are not a substitute for queue-based buffering in this scenario.
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.
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Question 2
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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: Put an Amazon SQS queue between EventBridge and the consumer, and have workers drain the queue with a DLQ for poison messages. — The metrics show that retries and throttling are causing events to age in place while the downstream payment API is unavailable. The resilient fix is to decouple ingestion from processing by inserting SQS between EventBridge and the worker. SQS stores events durably, absorbs bursts, and allows the consumer to process later at its own pace. Adding a DLQ completes the pattern by isolating poison messages that repeatedly fail. Why others are wrong: Increasing timeout only keeps failed work active for longer and does not preserve or buffer events. Setting concurrency to zero prevents processing but does not durably queue events. CloudWatch Logs subscriptions are not designed as a reliable event-delivery mechanism for application workflows.
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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