SAP-C02 Practice Question: Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization
A company is migrating a containerized application to AWS. The application consists of multiple microservices that communicate over HTTP. The company wants to minimize operational overhead and automatically scale the services based on demand. Which AWS service should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that AWS Lambda is a suitable replacement for containerized microservices without considering the need for long-running processes and container dependencies.
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 ECS with Fargate launch type
Amazon ECS with Fargate provides a serverless compute engine for containers, eliminating the need to manage servers. It supports auto scaling and integrates with load balancers for HTTP communication. This aligns with the goals of minimizing operational overhead and scaling based on demand.
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 EKS with self-managed worker nodes
Why it's wrong here
Amazon EKS with self-managed nodes requires you to provision and manage EC2 instances, adding operational overhead. While EKS is powerful for Kubernetes workloads, the scenario emphasizes minimizing operational overhead, so a serverless option like Fargate would be more appropriate.
- ✗
Amazon EC2 instances with Docker installed and an Auto Scaling group
Why it's wrong here
Running Docker on EC2 instances with an Auto Scaling group still requires you to manage the instances, including patching, scaling, and orchestration. This approach increases operational overhead compared to a managed container service. It also lacks native service discovery and load balancing integration for microservices.
- ✗
AWS Lambda functions for each microservice
Why it's wrong here
AWS Lambda is serverless and scales automatically, but it is designed for short-lived, event-driven functions, not long-running containerized microservices. Migrating a containerized application to Lambda would require significant refactoring and may not support all container dependencies. It is not a direct container hosting solution.
- ✓
Amazon ECS with Fargate launch type
Why this is correct
Amazon ECS with Fargate allows you to run containers without managing servers, reducing operational overhead. It supports service auto scaling based on metrics like CPU utilization or request count. It integrates with Application Load Balancers for HTTP traffic, making it ideal for microservices communication.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Amazon Web Services exam blueprint
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.