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Quick Answer
The correct answer is to implement a scaling policy based on CPU utilization to right-size the fleet dynamically, combined with Compute Savings Plans and scheduled auto scaling. Compute Savings Plans reduce costs by up to 66% over On-Demand pricing in exchange for a consistent hourly spend commitment over one or three years, covering the predictable baseline workload during business hours without sacrificing performance. Scheduled auto scaling then handles the predictable low-usage period at night by terminating instances, while the CPU-based scaling policy ensures the fleet adjusts to real-time demand during the day. On the SAA-C03 exam, this scenario tests your ability to pair a flexible discount model with both time-based and dynamic scaling—a common trap is choosing Reserved Instances, which lock you to a specific instance family and lack the automatic scheduling needed for variable hours. Memory tip: think “Schedule the baseline, scale the spikes, save with a plan.”
SAA-C03 Design Cost-Optimized Architectures Practice Question
This SAA-C03 practice question tests your understanding of design cost-optimized 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.
A company runs a web application on Amazon EC2 instances behind an Application Load Balancer. The workload is predictable during business hours but has low usage at night. Which three options can reduce costs without compromising performance? (Choose three.)
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
✓
Purchase Compute Savings Plans to cover the baseline EC2 usage during business hours.
Compute Savings Plans offer significant discounts (up to 66%) compared to On-Demand pricing in exchange for a commitment to a consistent amount of compute usage (measured in $/hour) over a 1- or 3-year term. They apply to EC2 instances, AWS Fargate, and Lambda, making them ideal for covering the predictable baseline workload during business hours. This reduces costs without affecting performance because the instances continue to run at full capacity.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse cost-reduction strategies that sacrifice reliability (like using Spot Instances for all traffic) with those that maintain performance, or they incorrectly assume a cheaper load balancer type can replace application-layer features without consequence.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Scheduled Auto Scaling policies use Amazon EventBridge (CloudWatch Events) to trigger scaling actions at specific times, which is ideal for predictable patterns like business hours. CPU-based dynamic scaling policies adjust the desired capacity based on real-time metrics, ensuring the fleet matches demand without over-provisioning. Under the hood, Auto Scaling integrates with CloudWatch alarms and the EC2 API to launch or terminate instances, and the cooldown period (default 300 seconds) prevents rapid oscillations.
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 startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SAA-C03 question test?
Design Cost-Optimized Architectures — This question tests Design Cost-Optimized Architectures — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Purchase Compute Savings Plans to cover the baseline EC2 usage during business hours. — Compute Savings Plans offer significant discounts (up to 66%) compared to On-Demand pricing in exchange for a commitment to a consistent amount of compute usage (measured in $/hour) over a 1- or 3-year term. They apply to EC2 instances, AWS Fargate, and Lambda, making them ideal for covering the predictable baseline workload during business hours. This reduces costs without affecting performance because the instances continue to run at full capacity.
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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Same concept, more angles
1 more ways this is tested on SAA-C03
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company is running a production web application on Amazon EC2 instances behind an Application Load Balancer (ALB). The workload has predictable traffic spikes during business hours and low traffic at night. The current architecture uses On-Demand EC2 instances, leading to high costs. The company wants to reduce costs without sacrificing availability or performance. Which three of the following strategies would help achieve this goal? (Choose three.)
medium- ✓ .Purchase Reserved Instances for the baseline capacity that runs 24/7.
- .Add Spot Instances for the entire workload during peak hours.
- ✓ .Use Auto Scaling with a mixed instances policy that includes On-Demand and Spot Instances.
- .Migrate to AWS Lambda for all web application traffic.
- ✓ .Implement a scheduled scaling action to increase capacity before business hours and decrease after.
- .Consolidate all instances into a single larger instance to reduce overhead.
Why : Purchasing Reserved Instances for the baseline 24/7 capacity provides a significant discount (up to 72%) compared to On-Demand pricing, directly reducing costs for the always-running portion of the workload. This strategy is correct because it matches the predictable, steady-state traffic component without sacrificing availability or performance.
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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.
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