SAP-C02 Practice Question: Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization
A company is migrating a large-scale batch processing workload from on-premises to AWS. The workload runs on a schedule and processes data files from an FTP server. The company wants to use AWS services that are serverless and event-driven to reduce operational overhead. The data files will be uploaded to an Amazon S3 bucket. Which solution meets these requirements?
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
✓
Use Amazon S3 Event Notifications to invoke an AWS Lambda function that processes the file
Amazon S3 Event Notifications can directly invoke an AWS Lambda function to process the file upon upload. This is serverless and event-driven, meeting the requirements to reduce operational overhead. Option A (AWS Batch) is not serverless because it requires provisioning compute resources and does not directly trigger from S3 events in a serverless manner. Option C (AWS Glue) is designed for ETL and crawling, not for general batch processing of files. Option D (Step Functions) is used for orchestrating workflows, but the actual processing would still need a compute resource like EC2 or Lambda; using it with EC2 adds overhead and is not fully serverless.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Use Amazon S3 Event Notifications to invoke an AWS Batch job that processes the file
Why it's wrong here
AWS Batch requires compute environments and is not fully serverless; it also adds latency.
- ✓
Use Amazon S3 Event Notifications to invoke an AWS Lambda function that processes the file
Why this is correct
Lambda is serverless, event-driven, and processes the file upon upload, reducing overhead.
- ✗
Use AWS Glue to crawl the S3 bucket and run an ETL job on a schedule
Why it's wrong here
Glue is for ETL, not general batch processing, and is not event-driven.
- ✗
Use Amazon S3 Event Notifications to start an AWS Step Functions workflow that runs processing on Amazon EC2
Why it's wrong here
Step Functions orchestrates but still requires EC2, increasing operational overhead.
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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Same concept, more angles
3 more ways this is tested on SAP-C02
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company is migrating a batch processing workload to AWS. The workload runs on a schedule and processes large files stored on a network file system. The company wants to use a serverless architecture to reduce costs. Which combination of AWS services should the company use?
medium- A.AWS Step Functions, Amazon EMR, and Amazon EFS.
- B.Amazon CloudWatch Events, AWS Lambda, and Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose.
- ✓ C.AWS Step Functions, AWS Lambda, and Amazon S3.
- D.Amazon CloudWatch Events, Amazon EC2, and Amazon EBS.
Why C: AWS Step Functions can orchestrate the workflow, AWS Lambda can process files in a serverless manner, and Amazon S3 can store the large files. Option A is wrong because Amazon EMR is not a serverless service and EFS is a network file system, not ideal for serverless batch processing. Option B is wrong because Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose is designed for streaming data, not batch processing of large files. Option D is wrong because Amazon EC2 and EBS are not serverless.
Variation 2. A company is migrating a batch processing workload to AWS. The workload runs on a schedule and processes large files stored on a network file system. The company wants to use serverless services. Which TWO services should the company use? (Choose TWO.)
easy- A.Amazon EMR
- B.Amazon EC2
- ✓ C.Amazon S3
- D.Amazon EFS
- ✓ E.AWS Lambda
Why C: Amazon S3 (Option C) is a serverless object storage service that can store the large files. AWS Lambda (Option E) is a serverless compute service that can process the files, for example by triggering on S3 events. Options A (Amazon EMR) requires a cluster of EC2 instances and is not serverless. Option B (Amazon EC2) requires provisioning servers and is not serverless. Option D (Amazon EFS) is a managed file system that is serverless, but it does not provide compute capabilities and is not the primary serverless compute service needed for processing. Therefore, the correct answers are C and E.
Variation 3. A company is migrating a batch processing workload to AWS. The workload runs a Java application that processes files from an S3 bucket. The company wants to minimize operational overhead. Which AWS service should the company use to run the Java application?
medium- A.Amazon EC2
- B.Amazon ECS with EC2 launch type
- C.AWS Batch
- ✓ D.AWS Lambda
Why D: (AWS Lambda) is correct because it allows running Java code in response to S3 events with no server management, minimizing operational overhead. AWS Lambda supports Java runtime, can be triggered by S3 object creation events, and automatically scales. Options A (Amazon EC2) and B (Amazon ECS with EC2 launch type) require managing EC2 instances or cluster, increasing overhead. Option C (AWS Batch) is designed for batch jobs but still requires compute environments (EC2 or Fargate) and is more complex than Lambda for simple file processing.
JA
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.