SAP-C02 Design for New Solutions Practice Question
A company is designing a web application that must handle sudden spikes in traffic. The application runs in a VPC and uses an Application Load Balancer (ALB) to distribute traffic to EC2 instances. The solution must be cost-effective for variable traffic patterns. Which scaling strategy should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse simple scaling with step adjustments as being more granular, but target tracking is actually more responsive and cost-effective for variable traffic because it continuously adjusts capacity based on a single target value rather than fixed thresholds.
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
✓
Target tracking scaling policy based on average CPU utilization
Target tracking scaling policy is the correct choice because it automatically adjusts the desired capacity of the Auto Scaling group to maintain a target metric (e.g., average CPU utilization at 50%) without requiring manual thresholds or step adjustments. This policy is ideal for variable traffic patterns as it dynamically scales in response to real-time demand, optimizing cost by adding or removing instances only as needed.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Simple scaling with step adjustments
Why it's wrong here
Step adjustments react to breached thresholds with cooldowns, so they lag sudden spikes and cannot match variable traffic promptly. It is tempting because step scaling suits predictable workloads with gradual changes, where defined alarm thresholds and adjustment tiers are sufficient.
- ✓
Target tracking scaling policy based on average CPU utilization
Why this is correct
Target tracking adjusts EC2 capacity automatically to hold average CPU at a defined target, matching capacity to demand during sudden spikes. Unlike scheduled or manual scaling, it reacts to actual load, and paying only for needed instances keeps costs low for variable traffic.
- ✗
Scheduled scaling
Why it's wrong here
Scheduled scaling triggers on predefined times, so it cannot react to the sudden, unpredictable spikes described; it suits predictable daily or weekly peaks. The stem demands elasticity tied to actual demand, which target-tracking or step scaling on ALB request metrics provides.
- ✗
Manual scaling
Why it's wrong here
Manual scaling requires an operator to change desired capacity, so it cannot respond to sudden spikes at all. It is tempting because manual scaling is valid for steady, well-forecast workloads where capacity changes are infrequent and planned in advance.
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Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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