- A
Latency-based routing with regional aliases to split traffic based on measured latency.
Why wrong: Latency-based routing selects answers based on request latency, not on health check status. If Region A becomes unhealthy, Route 53 does not automatically switch all traffic to Region B based solely on latency.
- B
Geolocation routing using country-based routing policies.
Why wrong: Geolocation routing chooses records based on the geography of the client. It does not use health checks to determine which region to return during an outage.
- C
Failover routing using a primary record with an associated health check for Region A and a secondary record for Region B.
Route 53 failover routing is designed for active/standby patterns. You configure the Region A record as primary with a health check. When that health check fails, Route 53 automatically returns the Region B (secondary) record, enabling health-check-driven regional failover.
- D
Weighted routing with weights set to 100 for Region A and 0 for Region B.
Why wrong: Weighted routing splits traffic based on configured weights, but it does not automatically change weights in response to health checks. You would still need external automation to detect failure and update weights.
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.
Your web application is deployed in two AWS Regions (Region A and Region B). You want Route 53 to automatically fail over DNS traffic from Region A to Region B when Region A is unhealthy.
The failover decision must be based on health checks that verify whether the application in Region A is reachable.
Which Route 53 routing configuration best meets these requirements?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"best"Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
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
Failover routing using a primary record with an associated health check for Region A and a secondary record for Region B.
Option C is correct because Route 53 failover routing allows you to create a primary record with an associated health check for Region A and a secondary record for Region B. When the health check for Region A fails, Route 53 automatically returns the secondary record's IP address, directing traffic to Region B. This directly meets the requirement for automatic failover based on application reachability.
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.
- ✗
Latency-based routing with regional aliases to split traffic based on measured latency.
Why it's wrong here
Latency-based routing selects answers based on request latency, not on health check status. If Region A becomes unhealthy, Route 53 does not automatically switch all traffic to Region B based solely on latency.
- ✗
Geolocation routing using country-based routing policies.
Why it's wrong here
Geolocation routing chooses records based on the geography of the client. It does not use health checks to determine which region to return during an outage.
- ✓
Failover routing using a primary record with an associated health check for Region A and a secondary record for Region B.
Why this is correct
Route 53 failover routing is designed for active/standby patterns. You configure the Region A record as primary with a health check. When that health check fails, Route 53 automatically returns the Region B (secondary) record, enabling health-check-driven regional failover.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Weighted routing with weights set to 100 for Region A and 0 for Region B.
Why it's wrong here
Weighted routing splits traffic based on configured weights, but it does not automatically change weights in response to health checks. You would still need external automation to detect failure and update weights.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse failover routing with weighted routing, mistakenly thinking that setting weights to 100/0 will achieve failover, but weighted routing does not automatically adjust weights based on health checks.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Route 53 failover routing works by associating a health check with the primary record; the health check monitors the endpoint via HTTP/HTTPS/TCP or can be a calculated health check. When the health check fails, Route 53 removes the primary record from DNS responses and returns the secondary record's value, with a TTL typically set low (e.g., 60 seconds) to speed up failover. In a real-world scenario, you might combine failover routing with an Application Load Balancer in each region, where the health check targets the ALB's DNS name or IP, ensuring traffic shifts only when the entire regional stack is down.
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: Failover routing using a primary record with an associated health check for Region A and a secondary record for Region B. — Option C is correct because Route 53 failover routing allows you to create a primary record with an associated health check for Region A and a secondary record for Region B. When the health check for Region A fails, Route 53 automatically returns the secondary record's IP address, directing traffic to Region B. This directly meets the requirement for automatic failover based on application reachability.
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: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
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
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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