SAP-C02 Design for New Solutions Practice Question
A company is migrating a monolithic e-commerce application to AWS. The application consists of a web frontend, a REST API, and a PostgreSQL database. The migration plan is to containerize the frontend and API using Amazon ECS with Fargate, and use Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL. The company expects variable traffic with peak loads during promotional events. The architecture must be highly available and cost-effective. The operations team wants to minimize manual scaling interventions. Which solution should a Solutions Architect recommend?
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
✓
Deploy the API and frontend on Amazon ECS with Fargate. Use Application Auto Scaling with target tracking based on average CPU and memory utilization. Use Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL with Multi-AZ deployment and Auto Scaling for storage.
It combines ECS with Fargate for serverless containers, Application Auto Scaling with target tracking based on CPU and memory utilization for automatic scaling, and Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL with Multi-AZ deployment for high availability and storage auto scaling. This meets the requirements for variable traffic, high availability, cost-effectiveness, and minimal manual intervention. Option A is wrong because it suggests Amazon DynamoDB instead of PostgreSQL, which is unsuitable for the relational workload. Option C is wrong because it uses EC2 instances with Auto Scaling, which adds management overhead and is less cost-effective than Fargate. Option D is wrong because it relies on scheduled scaling, which cannot handle unexpected spikes in traffic.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Deploy the API and frontend on Amazon ECS with Fargate. Use Application Auto Scaling with target tracking based on average CPU and memory utilization. Use Amazon DynamoDB for the database with on-demand capacity mode.
Why it's wrong here
DynamoDB is not appropriate for a PostgreSQL workload; the application would require significant changes.
- ✓
Deploy the API and frontend on Amazon ECS with Fargate. Use Application Auto Scaling with target tracking based on average CPU and memory utilization. Use Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL with Multi-AZ deployment and Auto Scaling for storage.
Why this is correct
ECS with Fargate and target tracking scaling provides automated, cost-effective scaling without over-provisioning.
- ✗
Deploy the API and frontend on Amazon EC2 instances behind an Application Load Balancer. Use Auto Scaling groups with dynamic scaling policies. Use Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL with Multi-AZ deployment.
Why it's wrong here
EC2 instances require more operational overhead than Fargate; Fargate is more cost-effective for containerized workloads.
- ✗
Deploy the API and frontend on Amazon ECS with Fargate. Configure a scheduled task to scale out during known promotional events. Use Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL with Multi-AZ deployment.
Why it's wrong here
Scheduled scaling does not handle unexpected traffic spikes; manual intervention is still needed.
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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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.