SAP-C02 Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions Practice Question
A company has a web application running on Amazon EC2 instances in an Auto Scaling group. The application experiences variable traffic patterns, and the operations team wants to optimize costs by using a mix of On-Demand and Spot Instances. The team also wants to ensure that the application remains available even if some instances are terminated. Which solution should a solutions architect recommend?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that using only Spot Instances with a low desired capacity will be sufficient for availability, when Spot interruptions can cause capacity shortfalls.
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
✓
Configure the Auto Scaling group to use a launch template with a mixed instances policy that includes On-Demand and Spot Instances, and enable capacity rebalancing.
The correct solution is to use a mixed instances policy with On-Demand and Spot Instances and enable capacity rebalancing. This allows the Auto Scaling group to automatically manage a mix of instance purchasing options, reducing costs while maintaining availability. Capacity rebalancing helps proactively replace Spot Instances that are at risk of interruption, ensuring the group maintains its desired capacity.
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 Auto Scaling group to use a launch template with a mixed instances policy that includes On-Demand and Spot Instances, and enable capacity rebalancing.
Why this is correct
A mixed instances policy allows the Auto Scaling group to launch a combination of On-Demand and Spot Instances, which can reduce costs while maintaining availability. Enabling capacity rebalancing proactively replaces Spot Instances that are at risk of termination, helping to maintain the desired capacity and improve resilience.
- ✗
Create two separate Auto Scaling groups, one for On-Demand and one for Spot, and use an Application Load Balancer to distribute traffic between them.
Why it's wrong here
While this approach can work, it is more complex to manage and does not automatically rebalance capacity when Spot Instances are terminated. It also does not provide the same level of integration as a mixed instances policy, which can automatically replace interrupted instances.
- ✗
Use a launch template with only On-Demand Instances and enable detailed monitoring to manually replace instances when Spot prices are low.
Why it's wrong here
This approach does not utilize Spot Instances at all, so it fails to optimize costs as required. Manual replacement based on Spot prices is operationally inefficient and does not provide automatic scaling or resilience against instance failures.
- ✗
Use a single launch configuration with only Spot Instances and set the Auto Scaling group to use a low desired capacity.
Why it's wrong here
Using only Spot Instances can lead to interruptions if Spot capacity is unavailable or if instances are reclaimed, which could reduce availability. Setting a low desired capacity does not address the need for a mix of instance types or the requirement to maintain availability during Spot terminations.
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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.