SAP-C02 Practice Question: Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization
A company is migrating a legacy three-tier application from its on-premises data center to AWS. The application consists of a web tier, an application tier, and a database tier. The company wants to improve scalability and reduce operational overhead. The database tier uses Microsoft SQL Server and cannot be modified. The company wants to migrate with minimal changes. Which two actions should a solutions architect take to meet these requirements? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that any managed database service can replace SQL Server, but NoSQL services like DynamoDB require a complete data model redesign, which is not feasible when the database cannot be modified.
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
✓
Migrate the database tier to Amazon RDS for SQL Server with a Multi-AZ deployment.
Migrating the web and application tiers to EC2 Auto Scaling groups behind an Application Load Balancer improves scalability and reduces operational overhead. Migrating the database to Amazon RDS for SQL Server with Multi-AZ provides a managed, highly available database service that supports the existing SQL Server schema with minimal changes. Together, these actions meet the requirements without re-architecting the application.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Migrate the database tier to Amazon RDS for SQL Server with a Multi-AZ deployment.
Why this is correct
Amazon RDS for SQL Server is a managed service that supports Multi-AZ deployments for high availability and automatic failover. It reduces operational overhead by handling backups, patching, and replication. Since the database cannot be modified, using RDS for SQL Server with Multi-AZ provides a compatible, scalable, and resilient database tier with minimal changes.
- ✓
Migrate the web and application tiers to Amazon EC2 instances in an Auto Scaling group behind an Application Load Balancer.
Why this is correct
Using EC2 Auto Scaling groups behind an Application Load Balancer allows the web and application tiers to scale automatically based on demand, improving scalability. It also reduces operational overhead compared to managing physical servers, as AWS handles instance health checks and replacement. This approach requires minimal changes to the application code, aligning with the migration goals.
- ✗
Migrate the web and application tiers to AWS Lambda functions with Amazon API Gateway.
Why it's wrong here
Moving the web and application tiers to Lambda requires rewriting the application into a serverless model, which involves significant code changes and a different programming paradigm. It may not support the existing application's dependencies and runtime. This approach does not meet the requirement of minimal changes and may introduce latency and cold start issues.
- ✗
Migrate the database tier to Amazon RDS for SQL Server with a read replica in a single Availability Zone.
Why it's wrong here
A read replica in a single Availability Zone does not provide high availability because it is not in a different AZ and cannot be used for automatic failover. While it can offload read traffic, it does not meet the goal of reducing operational overhead for the database tier. Multi-AZ deployment is required for high availability and automatic failover.
- ✗
Migrate the database tier to Amazon DynamoDB with on-demand capacity mode.
Why it's wrong here
DynamoDB is a NoSQL database that requires a complete data model redesign, which is not feasible since the database cannot be modified. It does not support SQL Server schemas or T-SQL queries natively. This approach would require significant application changes and is not suitable for a lift-and-shift migration with minimal changes.
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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.