- A
Create a primary failover record that points to the primary ALB and associates a Route 53 health check.
A primary failover record is the active answer while the primary Region remains healthy. The associated health check tells Route 53 when the primary endpoint should stop being returned to clients.
- B
Create a weighted record set that sends 50 percent of traffic to each Region.
Why wrong: Weighted routing is useful for splitting traffic or testing, but it does not provide the strict primary-versus-secondary behavior required for automatic failover.
- C
Create a secondary failover record that points to the secondary ALB.
The secondary failover record gives Route 53 the alternate destination to return when the primary health check fails. This is the fallback endpoint used only when the primary is unhealthy.
- D
Create a latency-based record set so Route 53 always prefers the fastest Region.
Why wrong: Latency-based routing chooses the nearest or fastest endpoint for each client request. That is different from a deliberate active-passive design where one Region is primary and another is only used when the primary fails.
- E
Create a multivalue answer record to return both ALB addresses on each lookup.
Why wrong: Multivalue answers can improve availability by returning multiple healthy values, but they do not implement the explicit primary-to-secondary failover pattern described in the scenario.
Quick Answer
The answer is a primary failover record and a secondary failover record. This configuration works because Route 53 failover routing for multi-Region disaster recovery relies on associating the primary record with a health check that monitors the primary Application Load Balancer; when that health check fails, Route 53 automatically directs traffic to the secondary failover record, which points to the secondary ALB and has no health check of its own. On the SAA-C03 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of active-passive failover patterns—a common trap is thinking you need weighted routing or multiple health checks, but the key is that only the primary record requires a health check. Remember the memory tip: “Primary gets the probe; secondary gets the load.”
SAA-C03 Design Resilient Architectures Practice Question
This SAA-C03 practice question tests your understanding of design resilient architectures. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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.
An internal API is deployed in two AWS Regions behind separate Application Load Balancers. The company wants clients to use the primary Region when it is healthy and automatically switch to the secondary Region if the primary health check fails. Which two Route 53 record configurations are required? Select two.
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"primary"Why it matters: Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
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
Create a primary failover record that points to the primary ALB and associates a Route 53 health check.
Option A is correct because a primary failover record in Amazon Route 53 directs traffic to the primary ALB and is associated with a Route 53 health check. If the health check fails, Route 53 automatically fails over to the secondary failover record, ensuring high availability across Regions.
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.
- ✓
Create a primary failover record that points to the primary ALB and associates a Route 53 health check.
Why this is correct
A primary failover record is the active answer while the primary Region remains healthy. The associated health check tells Route 53 when the primary endpoint should stop being returned to clients.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "primary" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Create a weighted record set that sends 50 percent of traffic to each Region.
Why it's wrong here
Weighted routing is useful for splitting traffic or testing, but it does not provide the strict primary-versus-secondary behavior required for automatic failover.
- ✓
Create a secondary failover record that points to the secondary ALB.
Why this is correct
The secondary failover record gives Route 53 the alternate destination to return when the primary health check fails. This is the fallback endpoint used only when the primary is unhealthy.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "primary" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Create a latency-based record set so Route 53 always prefers the fastest Region.
Why it's wrong here
Latency-based routing chooses the nearest or fastest endpoint for each client request. That is different from a deliberate active-passive design where one Region is primary and another is only used when the primary fails.
- ✗
Create a multivalue answer record to return both ALB addresses on each lookup.
Why it's wrong here
Multivalue answers can improve availability by returning multiple healthy values, but they do not implement the explicit primary-to-secondary failover pattern described in the scenario.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse failover routing with weighted or latency routing, assuming any health-aware routing provides automatic primary/secondary failover, but only failover records enforce a strict active-passive pattern.
Trap categories for this question
Scenario analysis trap
Multivalue answers can improve availability by returning multiple healthy values, but they do not implement the explicit primary-to-secondary failover pattern described in the scenario.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Route 53 failover routing uses active-passive configuration: the primary record has an associated health check that monitors the endpoint (e.g., ALB HTTP health check). When the health check fails, Route 53 removes the primary record from DNS responses and returns only the secondary record. This relies on DNS TTL (default 60 seconds) for propagation, so failover is not instantaneous but typically completes within a few minutes. In real-world scenarios, combining failover records with Route 53 health checks and CloudWatch alarms can trigger automated recovery actions.
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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
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.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SAA-C03 question test?
Design Resilient Architectures — This question tests Design Resilient Architectures — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create a primary failover record that points to the primary ALB and associates a Route 53 health check. — Option A is correct because a primary failover record in Amazon Route 53 directs traffic to the primary ALB and is associated with a Route 53 health check. If the health check fails, Route 53 automatically fails over to the secondary failover record, ensuring high availability across Regions.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "primary". Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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