SAA-C03 Design High-Performing Architectures Practice Question
Exhibit
fio benchmark on the selected EC2 family: - Device: /dev/nvme1n1 - 4 KiB random read IOPS: 710,000 - Average latency: 0.18 ms - Sequential throughput: 2.8 GiB/s Workload notes: - Workers download source video files from S3 - They generate temporary frame extracts and intermediate artifacts locally - Final MP4 outputs are uploaded to S3 immediately after processing - If an instance terminates, the job is retried from the original source file
Based on the exhibit, which storage choice best matches the workload requirements?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates choose durable storage options like EBS or EFS because they are familiar and seem 'safer,' failing to recognize that the workload explicitly requires a temporary workspace where data does not need to persist, making instance store the most performant and cost-effective choice.
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
✓
Use instance store NVMe for the temporary processing workspace.
Instance store NVMe volumes provide temporary, ephemeral block storage directly attached to the EC2 instance, offering extremely low latency and high throughput for temporary processing workspaces. Since the workload requires a temporary workspace where data does not need to persist beyond the instance lifecycle, instance store is the optimal choice because it avoids the cost and overhead of durable storage while delivering the highest performance for scratch data.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Use io2 EBS volumes because they provide the highest durable block storage performance.
Why it's wrong here
io2 can be very fast, but the workload does not require durable local scratch data, so paying for persistence adds unnecessary cost and complexity.
- ✓
Use instance store NVMe for the temporary processing workspace.
Why this is correct
Instance store fits a high-IOPS scratch workload where data can be lost safely and rebuilt from S3. The benchmark shows extremely low latency and very high random I/O performance, which is ideal for intermediate transcode files. Because the job can be retried from the source object, persistence is not needed on the local workspace.
- ✗
Use Amazon EFS for the workspace so the temporary files survive instance replacement.
Why it's wrong here
EFS is shared and persistent, but a network file system adds latency and is unnecessary when the workspace is disposable.
- ✗
Use S3 as the working directory and read and write the intermediate files directly there.
Why it's wrong here
S3 is object storage, not a low-latency filesystem for frequent read-modify-write scratch operations and temporary intermediates.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.