SAP-C02 Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions Practice Question
A company has a serverless application using AWS Lambda, API Gateway, and DynamoDB. During a traffic spike, some API requests fail with 5xx errors. The CloudWatch logs show 'ProvisionedThroughputExceededException' for DynamoDB. The team wants to handle this gracefully without losing requests. What should they do?
⚠ Common exam trap
SAP-C02 often tests the misconception that simply increasing provisioned capacity or adding a queue solves throttling, but the key is combining auto scaling with retry logic to handle spikes without losing requests.
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
✓
Enable auto scaling for DynamoDB and implement retry logic with exponential backoff in the Lambda function.
The ProvisionedThroughputExceededException indicates that DynamoDB is throttling requests because the table's provisioned capacity is insufficient for the traffic spike. Enabling DynamoDB auto scaling allows the table to automatically adjust its read/write capacity based on utilization, while implementing retry logic with exponential backoff in the Lambda function ensures that throttled requests are retried after progressively longer intervals, preventing request loss and handling temporary spikes gracefully. This combination directly addresses the root cause and provides resilience.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Enable auto scaling for DynamoDB and implement retry logic with exponential backoff in the Lambda function.
Why this is correct
DynamoDB's ProvisionedThroughputExceededException arises when read/write capacity units are exhausted, so on-demand or auto scaling absorbs the spike. Retries with exponential backoff and jitter let Lambda reattempt throttled calls, satisfying the requirement to handle failures gracefully without losing requests. Together they address capacity exhaustion and transient throttling.
- ✗
Increase the provisioned read/write capacity of the DynamoDB table to a high fixed value.
Why it's wrong here
Raising provisioned capacity to a fixed high value still throttles once the spike exceeds that ceiling and wastes cost when idle. It is tempting because it directly addresses the throughput exception, but the resilient fix is on-demand capacity mode or a retry with exponential backoff and jitter on the client side.
- ✗
Use an SQS queue between API Gateway and Lambda to buffer requests.
Why it's wrong here
Buffering in SQS addresses downstream Lambda concurrency, not DynamoDB throttling; the ProvisionedThroughputExceededException still occurs when Lambda polls and writes. It is tempting because SQS decouples producers from consumers during spikes, and would be correct if Lambda invocation limits, not table capacity, caused the 5xx errors.
- ✗
Configure API Gateway to automatically retry failed requests.
Why it's wrong here
API Gateway retries re-send the same write to an already-throttled table, multiplying load and worsening ProvisionedThroughputExceededException rather than absorbing it. Retries suit transient network faults or idempotent reads; here the capacity limit persists, so retrying cannot restore throughput.
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 and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Amazon Web Services exam blueprint
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.