SAP-C02 Practice Question: Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization
A company is migrating a high-traffic web application from on-premises to AWS. The application uses a shared file system for storing user uploads, and the company wants to ensure high availability and durability across multiple Availability Zones. The migration must be completed with minimal changes to the application code. Which AWS service should be used for the shared file system?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that Amazon S3 can be used as a drop-in replacement for a shared file system without application changes, but S3 is object storage and requires code modifications to use its API.
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 with a mount target in each Availability Zone and a lifecycle policy to move infrequent access files to EFS IA.
Amazon EFS is a fully managed, elastic NFS file system that can be mounted on EC2 instances across multiple AZs, providing high availability and durability. It requires no application changes since it presents a standard file system interface. The lifecycle policy helps manage costs by moving infrequently accessed files to a lower-cost storage class.
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 FSx for Lustre with a linked S3 bucket for durability.
Why it's wrong here
FSx for Lustre is a high-performance file system for compute-intensive workloads like HPC. It is not designed for general-purpose shared file storage for user uploads. While it can link to S3, it does not provide the same durability and availability characteristics as EFS for this use case, and it may require more operational overhead.
- ✗
Amazon FSx for Windows File Server with Multi-AZ deployment.
Why it's wrong here
FSx for Windows File Server is designed for Windows-based applications and supports SMB protocol. If the application is Linux-based, it would not be compatible without significant changes. The scenario does not specify the OS, but a general shared file system for user uploads is more commonly Linux-based, and FSx for Windows is not the default choice.
- ✓
Amazon EFS with a mount target in each Availability Zone and a lifecycle policy to move infrequent access files to EFS IA.
Why this is correct
Amazon EFS provides a fully managed, scalable, and durable NFS file system that can be mounted on multiple EC2 instances across AZs. It requires no application code changes and supports high availability. The lifecycle policy optimizes cost by moving less frequently accessed files to EFS IA storage class.
- ✗
Amazon S3 with a mounted file system using s3fs-fuse on each web server.
Why it's wrong here
s3fs-fuse is not a native file system and can introduce latency and consistency issues. It requires application changes to handle S3 semantics, and it is not suitable for high-traffic shared file systems. S3 is object storage, not a POSIX-compliant file system, so it would not meet the requirement for minimal code changes.
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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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.