SAP-C02 Design for New Solutions Practice Question
A company is designing a new application that requires low-latency access to a shared dataset across multiple EC2 instances in the same AWS Region. The dataset is updated frequently. Which storage solution should the company use?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse block storage (EBS) with shared file storage, assuming EBS can be attached to multiple instances simultaneously, or they overlook the latency and protocol differences between object storage (S3) and file storage (EFS) for shared, low-latency workloads.
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
✓
Amazon EFS
Amazon EFS provides a fully managed, NFS-based shared file system that can be mounted concurrently by multiple EC2 instances across different Availability Zones within the same AWS Region. It offers low-latency access and supports frequent updates through its standard storage class, making it ideal for shared datasets that require consistent, low-latency 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.
- ✗
Amazon S3
Why it's wrong here
S3 provides object storage accessed over HTTP, not a POSIX file system, so concurrent EC2 instances cannot mount and update a shared dataset with low latency. It suits durable, infrequently mutated objects; a shared, frequently updated dataset needs a clustered file system such as Amazon EFS.
- ✗
Amazon EBS with Provisioned IOPS
Why it's wrong here
EBS volumes attach to a single EC2 instance (except Multi-Attach io1/io2 in one AZ), so they cannot serve a shared dataset across multiple instances. High IOPS suits a single instance's low-latency block workload, not concurrent multi-instance shared access.
- ✗
Amazon S3 Glacier
Why it's wrong here
S3 Glacier is archival storage with retrieval times of minutes to hours, so it cannot provide low-latency access to a frequently updated dataset. It is tempting for cheap long-term retention of cold data, but the stem requires immediate, repeated reads and writes.
- ✓
Amazon EFS
Why this is correct
Amazon EFS provides a shared, elastic NFS file system mountable concurrently by many EC2 instances in one Region, with low-latency access to frequently updated data. This satisfies the shared-dataset constraint that instance-attached EBS volumes cannot meet.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
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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.