SAP-C02 Design for New Solutions Practice Question
A company is designing a new serverless application using AWS Lambda. The application must process files uploaded to an S3 bucket. Each file can be up to 1 GB in size. The processing time for each file is expected to be up to 15 minutes. The company wants to minimize cost and operational overhead. Which TWO configuration choices should the company make? (Choose TWO.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse S3 event notifications with sending file content directly to Lambda, or assume Lambda timeouts can be extended beyond 15 minutes, but AWS enforces a hard 15-minute maximum for synchronous and asynchronous invocations.
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 S3 to send event notifications to the Lambda function.
S3 event notifications can be configured to invoke a Lambda function when an object is created, providing an event-driven architecture that eliminates the need for polling or custom triggers. Option E is correct because the maximum execution timeout for AWS Lambda is 15 minutes (900 seconds), and setting it to 15 minutes allows the function to process files up to the expected processing time without exceeding the service limit.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Mount an Amazon EFS file system to the Lambda function for temporary storage.
Why it's wrong here
EFS is not required for this use case. Lambda can read from S3 directly. EFS adds complexity and cost.
- ✗
Use S3 event notifications to send the file content directly to Lambda.
Why it's wrong here
S3 event notifications send only metadata (bucket name, object key) to Lambda. Lambda reads the file from S3 using the S3 API, so the file content is not sent in the event.
- ✗
Extend the Lambda function timeout to 30 minutes.
Why it's wrong here
Lambda's maximum timeout is 15 minutes, so a 30-minute timeout is not possible.
- ✓
Configure S3 to send event notifications to the Lambda function.
Why this is correct
S3 can trigger Lambda directly via event notifications when a new object is created, which is a simple and cost-effective integration.
- ✓
Set the Lambda function timeout to 15 minutes.
Why this is correct
Lambda supports up to 15 minutes of execution time, which covers the expected processing time.
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 |
Go deeper
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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.