The correct answer is to copy EBS snapshots to another AWS Region and automate restoring them into EBS volumes, paired with taking snapshots every 15 minutes. This meets the 15-minute RPO by ensuring incremental snapshots capture data changes within that window, while the cross-region copy satisfies the 2-hour RTO by enabling rapid volume restoration in a separate Region. On the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional SAP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of EBS snapshot-based disaster recovery, where the key trap is confusing snapshot frequency with real-time replication—snapshots are not continuous, so a 15-minute interval is the minimum to hit that RPO. Another common mistake is assuming a single-Region backup strategy suffices, but cross-region replication is mandatory for DR. Memory tip: think “Snap and Ship”—snap every 15 minutes, ship to another Region, and restore to hit your RTO.
SAP-C02 Design for New Solutions Practice Question
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of design for new 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 is designing a disaster recovery solution for a critical application that runs on Amazon EC2 instances in a single AWS Region. The application data is stored on Amazon EBS volumes. The recovery point objective (RPO) is 15 minutes, and the recovery time objective (RTO) is 2 hours. Which TWO actions should the company take to meet these objectives? (Choose two.)
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Configure Amazon EBS snapshots to be taken every 15 minutes.
Options A and D are correct. To meet an RPO of 15 minutes, EBS snapshots must be taken every 15 minutes. To meet an RTO of 2 hours, the snapshots can be copied to another region and used to restore volumes and launch instances. Option B is not sufficient because EBS snapshots are not real-time. Option C is wrong because the RPO is 15 minutes, not 1 hour. Option E is wrong because it does not specify cross-region replication.
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.
✗
Use Amazon EBS Multi-Attach to attach volumes to instances in another region.
Why it's wrong here
Multi-Attach is for same AZ, not cross-region.
✗
Use AWS Backup to create a backup plan with a daily backup.
Why it's wrong here
Daily backup does not meet 15-minute RPO.
✗
Use AWS CloudFormation to recreate the EC2 instances from a template.
Why it's wrong here
Does not restore data.
✓
Configure Amazon EBS snapshots to be taken every 15 minutes.
Why this is correct
Meets the 15-minute RPO.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Copy EBS snapshots to another AWS Region and automate restoring them into EBS volumes.
Why this is correct
Enables recovery in another region within RTO.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
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.
Design for New Solutions — This question tests Design for New Solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Configure Amazon EBS snapshots to be taken every 15 minutes. — Options A and D are correct. To meet an RPO of 15 minutes, EBS snapshots must be taken every 15 minutes. To meet an RTO of 2 hours, the snapshots can be copied to another region and used to restore volumes and launch instances. Option B is not sufficient because EBS snapshots are not real-time. Option C is wrong because the RPO is 15 minutes, not 1 hour. Option E is wrong because it does not specify cross-region replication.
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 is designing a new disaster recovery solution for a critical application that runs on Amazon EC2 instances in a single AWS Region. The solution must have a Recovery Time Objective (RTO) of less than 15 minutes and a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of less than 5 minutes. The application data is stored on Amazon EBS volumes. Which THREE steps should be taken to meet these requirements? (Choose three.)
hard
✓ A.Create Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) with pre-installed software and use AWS Backup to automate recovery in another region.
✓ B.Use Amazon EBS snapshots and replicate them to another AWS Region using cross-region snapshot copy.
✓ C.Use AWS CloudEndure Disaster Recovery to continuously replicate the EC2 instances to another region.
D.Enable Amazon S3 cross-region replication for the EBS snapshots.
E.Use AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) to replicate data to a secondary region.
Why A: Option A is correct because creating AMIs with pre-installed software and using AWS Backup to automate recovery in another region enables rapid instance launch with all required software already configured, supporting an RTO of under 15 minutes. AWS Backup can automate cross-region AMI copying and recovery, ensuring the RPO of less than 5 minutes is met when combined with frequent backup schedules.
Last reviewed: Jun 20, 2026
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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.
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