SAP-C02 Design for New Solutions Practice Question
A company is building a high-performance computing (HPC) cluster on AWS for genomics research. The compute nodes require low-latency inter-node communication. Which networking solution should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse Enhanced Networking (ENA) with Elastic Fabric Adapter (EFA), assuming both provide similar low-latency benefits, but only EFA offers OS-bypass for HPC inter-node communication, while ENA still relies on kernel processing.
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
✓
Elastic Fabric Adapter (EFA)
Elastic Fabric Adapter (EFA) is a network interface that enables HPC and machine learning applications to achieve low-latency inter-node communication by bypassing the operating system kernel and providing OS-bypass capabilities via the Libfabric library. This is essential for tightly coupled HPC workloads like genomics research, where MPI (Message Passing Interface) jobs require microsecond-level latency and high throughput between compute nodes.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Elastic Fabric Adapter (EFA)
Why this is correct
EFA provides low-latency, high-throughput inter-node communication for HPC.
- ✗
Enhanced Networking (ENA)
Why it's wrong here
ENA provides higher performance but not the ultra-low latency that EFA provides for HPC.
- ✗
VPC Peering
Why it's wrong here
VPC Peering is for connecting VPCs, not for inter-node communication within a cluster.
- ✗
AWS Direct Connect
Why it's wrong here
Direct Connect connects on-premises to AWS, not inter-node.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 1,660 original SAP-C02 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
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.