SAP-C02 Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions Practice Question
A company has a serverless application using AWS Lambda, Amazon API Gateway, and Amazon DynamoDB. The application experiences occasional timeouts during peak hours. After reviewing AWS X-Ray traces, the team finds that DynamoDB queries are slow. Which THREE actions should the team take to improve performance and continuously optimize the solution?
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
✓
Optimize DynamoDB queries by using global secondary indexes and reducing the number of separate queries.
To improve performance and optimize the serverless application, the team should take the following actions: Optimize DynamoDB queries by using global secondary indexes and reducing the number of separate queries (Option A). This reduces query latency and the number of round trips. Configure DynamoDB auto scaling (Option B) to adjust read and write capacity based on demand, ensuring sufficient throughput during peak hours without over-provisioning. Enable Amazon DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) for read-heavy workloads (Option E) to provide in-memory caching for DynamoDB, significantly reducing read latency. Using Amazon ElastiCache for Redis (Option C) is an external caching solution that adds operational complexity and is not directly optimized for DynamoDB integration; DAX is the recommended DynamoDB caching service. Implementing Lambda function warmers (Option D) addresses cold starts but does not improve DynamoDB query performance.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Optimize DynamoDB queries by using global secondary indexes and reducing the number of separate queries.
Why this is correct
Optimize DynamoDB queries by using global secondary indexes and reducing the number of separate queries. This reduces query latency and the number of round trips.
- ✓
Configure DynamoDB auto scaling to adjust read and write capacity based on demand.
Why this is correct
Configure DynamoDB auto scaling to adjust read and write capacity based on demand, ensuring sufficient throughput during peak hours without over-provisioning.
- ✗
Use Amazon ElastiCache for Redis to cache DynamoDB query results.
Why it's wrong here
Using Amazon ElastiCache for Redis is an external caching solution that adds operational complexity and is not directly optimized for DynamoDB integration; DAX is the recommended DynamoDB caching service.
- ✗
Implement Lambda function warmers to keep containers initialized and reduce cold starts.
Why it's wrong here
Implementing Lambda function warmers addresses cold starts but does not improve DynamoDB query performance.
- ✓
Enable Amazon DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) for read-heavy workloads.
Why this is correct
Enable Amazon DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) for read-heavy workloads to provide in-memory caching for DynamoDB, significantly reducing read latency.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.