SAP-C02 Practice Question: Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization
A company is migrating a legacy on-premises application to AWS. The application currently runs on a Windows Server with a SQL Server database. The company wants to minimize changes to the application code. Which migration strategy should the company use?
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
✓
Rehost (lift-and-shift)
Rehosting (lift-and-shift) involves moving the application as-is to AWS, minimizing code changes. Replatforming (lift-and-resize) may involve some changes, but rehosting requires the least modification. Refactoring and rebuilding involve significant changes.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Rehost (lift-and-shift)
Why this is correct
Rehost moves the Windows Server and SQL Server workloads to Amazon EC2 essentially unchanged, satisfying the requirement to minimise application code changes. Unlike replatforming or refactoring, no engine swap or rewrite occurs, so the legacy application continues running on the same OS and database platform.
- ✗
Refactor / re-architect
Why it's wrong here
Refactoring rewrites the application into cloud-native services, changing code, data models and deployment, directly contradicting the minimal-code requirement. Rehosting moves the existing Windows Server and SQL Server onto EC2 with no code changes. Refactoring is correct when the business wants long-term scalability and accepts substantial rework.
- ✗
Replatform (lift-and-resize)
Why it's wrong here
Replatforming alters the platform layer, for example moving SQL Server to Amazon RDS, which changes connection strings, drivers or licensing and so touches application code. Rehosting lifts the Windows Server and SQL Server onto EC2 unchanged, satisfying the minimal-code requirement. Replatforming suits teams willing to accept modest code changes for managed-service benefits.
- ✗
Rebuild
Why it's wrong here
Rebuilding discards the existing application and develops a replacement, changing all code and behaviour, which conflicts with minimising code changes. Rehosting migrates the Windows Server and SQL Server onto EC2 unmodified. Rebuilding is correct when the legacy application is unsalvageable and the business can absorb full redevelopment.
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Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on SAP-C02
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Variation 1. A company is migrating a monolithic application to AWS. The application currently runs on a single on-premises server and uses a MySQL database. The company wants to minimize changes to the application code during migration. Which migration strategy should the company use?
easy- A.Refactor the application to use microservices and Amazon RDS.
- ✓ B.Rehost the application on Amazon EC2 and migrate the database to Amazon RDS.
- C.Replatform the application to use AWS Elastic Beanstalk and Amazon Aurora.
- D.Repurchase the application by adopting a SaaS solution.
Why B: Rehosting (lift-and-shift) moves the application to Amazon EC2 and the MySQL database to Amazon RDS with minimal or no code changes, which directly satisfies the requirement to minimize application code changes. This is the fastest migration path and preserves the existing monolithic architecture. Rehosting is the canonical 'minimize changes' strategy in the 7 Rs framework.
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.