SAP-C02 Practice Question: Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization
A company is migrating a monolithic application to AWS and wants to adopt a microservices architecture. The application currently runs on a single server and uses a shared MySQL database. Which AWS service can help the company decouple the microservices and enable asynchronous communication?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap is selecting API Gateway or Step Functions because they are also used in microservices architectures, but the question specifically asks for asynchronous communication and decoupling, which is the core purpose of SQS.
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 Simple Queue Service (SQS)
Amazon SQS is a fully managed message queuing service that enables asynchronous communication and decoupling between microservices. By using SQS, the monolithic application can be broken into independent services that communicate via queues, improving scalability and resilience. SQS is specifically designed for decoupling and asynchronous messaging, making it the correct choice.
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 API Gateway
Why it's wrong here
API Gateway exposes synchronous REST or HTTP endpoints; it routes requests and returns responses immediately, so it does not buffer messages between services. It is tempting as the public entry point for microservices, but asynchronous decoupling requires a message broker such as Amazon SQS or SNS.
- ✗
AWS Step Functions
Why it's wrong here
Step Functions orchestrates workflow state transitions and waits for each task to complete, which is coordination rather than asynchronous decoupling. It fits long-running, ordered processes; decoupling microservices instead needs a queue or topic that buffers messages independently of consumer availability.
- ✗
Elastic Load Balancing
Why it's wrong here
Elastic Load Balancing distributes synchronous inbound requests across targets; it does not introduce the asynchronous, buffered communication microservices need. It suits spreading HTTP traffic across healthy instances, not decoupling services that must communicate without waiting on each other.
- ✓
Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS)
Why this is correct
Amazon SQS provides fully managed message queues that decouple microservices by buffering messages, so producers and consumers operate independently without waiting on each other. This directly satisfies the asynchronous communication requirement, unlike synchronous request-response services. It also removes the shared-database coupling by letting services exchange events through durable queues rather than direct calls.
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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
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