SAP-C02 Design for New Solutions Practice Question
A company is designing a new web application that will run on Amazon EC2 instances behind an Application Load Balancer. The application must be highly available across multiple Availability Zones. Which TWO actions should the architect take? (Choose TWO.)
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to think launching instances in a single AZ is sufficient if the ALB is configured across multiple AZs, but the ALB requires healthy targets in each enabled AZ to maintain high availability; without instances in at least two AZs, the ALB cannot route traffic if the sole AZ fails.
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 ALB as internet-facing and attach it to multiple Availability Zones.
An internet-facing Application Load Balancer (ALB) must be attached to multiple Availability Zones (AZs) to provide high availability and fault tolerance. If the ALB is configured in only one AZ, a failure in that AZ would render the application unreachable. Option C is correct because EC2 instances must be launched in at least two AZs to serve as healthy targets for the ALB, ensuring that traffic can be routed to instances in another AZ if one AZ fails.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Launch all EC2 instances in a single Availability Zone.
Why it's wrong here
Single AZ is not fault-tolerant.
- ✓
Configure the ALB as internet-facing and attach it to multiple Availability Zones.
Why this is correct
Internet-facing ALB with multiple AZs provides HA.
- ✓
Launch EC2 instances in at least two Availability Zones.
Why this is correct
Multi-AZ deployment ensures availability if one AZ fails.
- ✗
Use a Network Load Balancer instead of an Application Load Balancer.
Why it's wrong here
NLB is for TCP/UDP traffic; web app typically uses HTTP/HTTPS.
- ✗
Assign Elastic IP addresses to each EC2 instance.
Why it's wrong here
EIPs are not needed behind an ALB.
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