The correct answer is to increase the reserved concurrency for the Lambda function. This directly addresses the throttling issue by guaranteeing that the function has a dedicated pool of execution environments available, preventing it from being limited by the account-level concurrency limit shared across all functions. When an SQS queue invokes Lambda, throttling occurs if the function’s concurrency exceeds its reserved capacity or the account’s unreserved concurrency pool; raising reserved concurrency ensures the function can scale to handle the SQS messages without being blocked. On the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional SAP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of Lambda scaling behavior with event source mappings, and a common trap is assuming that adding more queues or adjusting batch sizes resolves throttling—neither increases the function’s allowed concurrency. Remember the memory tip: “Reserve your runway” to recall that reserved concurrency gives your function a guaranteed path to scale, avoiding throttling from SQS.
SAP-C02 Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions Practice Question
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of continuous improvement for existing solutions. 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 has a production AWS Lambda function that processes data from an Amazon SQS queue. The function often experiences throttling errors. The company wants to implement a solution to reduce throttling and improve processing performance. Which solution meets these requirements?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Increase the reserved concurrency for the Lambda function.
Option D is correct because increasing the Lambda function's reserved concurrency ensures the function can handle more concurrent executions, reducing throttling. Option A is wrong because Lambda does not support concurrency limits per queue. Option B is wrong because using a Lambda event source mapping for SQS already batches messages. Option C is wrong because adding more queues does not increase concurrency per function.
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.
✗
Configure the SQS queue to use a higher concurrency limit.
Why it's wrong here
SQS does not have concurrency limits.
✓
Increase the reserved concurrency for the Lambda function.
Why this is correct
This ensures the function has enough concurrency to avoid throttling.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Create additional SQS queues and distribute messages across them.
Why it's wrong here
This adds complexity and does not increase Lambda concurrency.
✗
Increase the batch size of the Lambda event source mapping.
Why it's wrong here
This increases messages per invocation but does not directly reduce throttling.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→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.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which SAP-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions — This question tests Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Increase the reserved concurrency for the Lambda function. — Option D is correct because increasing the Lambda function's reserved concurrency ensures the function can handle more concurrent executions, reducing throttling. Option A is wrong because Lambda does not support concurrency limits per queue. Option B is wrong because using a Lambda event source mapping for SQS already batches messages. Option C is wrong because adding more queues does not increase concurrency per function.
What should I do if I get this SAP-C02 question wrong?
Identify which SAP-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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 uses AWS Lambda functions to process events from an SQS queue. The Lambda function is configured with a reserved concurrency of 5. The SQS queue has a high volume of messages, and the Lambda function is experiencing throttling errors. What is the most cost-effective solution to reduce throttling?
easy
A.Create multiple Lambda functions each processing a subset of the queue.
B.Decrease the reserved concurrency to force the function to process messages more efficiently.
✓ C.Increase the reserved concurrency for the Lambda function.
D.Increase the batch size of the SQS event source mapping.
Why C: Option A is correct because increasing reserved concurrency allows more concurrent invocations. Option B is wrong because adding more Lambda functions is not how concurrency works. Option C is wrong because increasing batch size may cause timeouts. Option D is wrong because decreasing concurrency worsens the problem.
Variation 2. A company uses AWS Lambda to process events from an SQS queue. The Lambda function has a reserved concurrency of 5. During peak hours, messages are being backed up in the queue. The function's duration is well within the 15-minute limit. What is the fastest way to increase throughput?
easy
A.Increase the function's maximum thread count.
✓ B.Increase the reserved concurrency to 20.
C.Create additional SQS queues and distribute messages.
D.Increase the SQS batch size to 100.
Why B: Option A is correct because increasing reserved concurrency allows more simultaneous invocations, processing more messages in parallel. Option B is wrong because Lambda functions don't have a 'thread count' setting. Option C is wrong because batch size is already maxed at 10 for SQS. Option D is wrong because adding more queues would require code changes and doesn't directly help.
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
This SAP-C02 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 SAP-C02 exam.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.