SAP-C02 Practice Question: Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization
A company is migrating a monolithic application to AWS. The application consists of a web server, an application server, and a MySQL database. The web server and application server run on the same EC2 instance. The company wants to minimize changes during migration. Which migration strategy should the architect recommend?
⚠ Common exam trap
SAP-C02 often tests the distinction between rehost and replatform, where candidates might think moving the database to RDS is minimal change, but it actually requires application modifications.
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 using AWS Application Migration Service (AWS MGN)
Rehosting using AWS Application Migration Service (AWS MGN) is the correct strategy because it minimizes changes by lifting and shifting the existing servers to EC2. The application remains monolithic, and the database can stay on the same instance or be moved as-is. This aligns with the requirement to minimize changes during migration.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Refactor the application into microservices on Amazon ECS
Why it's wrong here
Refactoring into microservices on Amazon ECS rebuilds the application's architecture, contradicting the requirement to minimise changes during migration. It is tempting because microservices improve scalability and deployment independence, and would be the right choice when the goal is modernisation rather than a lift-and-shift of the monolith.
- ✗
Replatform by migrating the database to Amazon RDS
Why it's wrong here
Replatforming to Amazon RDS changes the database engine's operational model, connection endpoints and possibly schema, adding migration effort. It tempts when managed databases are desired, but the stem demands minimal change, which a rehost of the whole stack onto EC2 satisfies.
- ✓
Rehost using AWS Application Migration Service (AWS MGN)
Why this is correct
Rehosting with AWS Application Migration Service lifts the servers as-is onto EC2, replicating the existing web, application, and MySQL tiers without code changes. This directly satisfies the requirement to minimise changes during migration, since no refactoring, replatforming, or re-architecting is needed.
- ✗
Retire the application and replace it with a SaaS solution
Why it's wrong here
Retiring the application and adopting SaaS replaces the existing system entirely, which conflicts with minimising migration changes and assumes a suitable product exists. It is tempting because decommissioning redundant applications reduces cost and operational overhead, and would be correct if the application were no longer needed.
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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.