SAP-C02 Practice Question: Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization
A company is migrating a monolithic e-commerce application to AWS. The application currently runs on a single on-premises server running Windows Server and SQL Server. The company wants to minimize re-architecting effort and time to migrate. 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 the application on Amazon EC2 Windows instances with SQL Server
Rehost (lift-and-shift) involves moving the application as-is to AWS, minimizing changes and time. Option A (Retire) is not appropriate because the application is still needed. Option B (Refactor) requires significant re-architecting. Option D (Replatform) involves some optimization but still requires 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.
- ✗
Retire the application and replace it with a SaaS solution
Why it's wrong here
Retiring and replacing with SaaS discards the existing application entirely, requiring data migration, feature-parity assessment and business process change, none of which meets the minimal-effort, minimal-time goal. Retirement is correct only when the application is no longer needed or a SaaS product already covers its function.
- ✗
Refactor the application to use microservices on Amazon ECS
Why it's wrong here
Refactoring to microservices on Amazon ECS requires decomposing the monolith, rewriting integration points and rebuilding deployment pipelines, which directly contradicts the minimal re-architecting requirement. Refactoring is correct when the business needs rapid feature velocity and scalability that the monolith cannot deliver.
- ✓
Rehost the application on Amazon EC2 Windows instances with SQL Server
Why this is correct
Rehosting lifts the Windows Server and SQL Server workload onto Amazon EC2 unchanged, preserving the existing monolith. This requires no code modification or database refactoring, directly satisfying the stated goals of minimal re-architecting effort and fastest migration timeline.
- ✗
Replatform the application to use Amazon RDS for SQL Server
Why it's wrong here
Replatforming to Amazon RDS for SQL Server changes the database engine hosting model, requiring connection-string, driver and operational changes rather than a lift-and-shift. It is the right strategy when the goal is to offload database administration, not when minimising re-architecting effort and migration time.
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Variation 1. A retail company is migrating its on-premises e-commerce application to AWS. The application currently runs on a single server with a MySQL database. The company wants to minimize operational overhead and improve scalability. Which migration strategy should be used?
easy- A.Re-platform the application to use AWS Elastic Beanstalk and Amazon RDS.
- B.Repurchase a new SaaS-based e-commerce solution.
- C.Refactor the application as microservices on Amazon ECS with Amazon Aurora Serverless.
- ✓ D.Rehost the application on Amazon EC2 and use Amazon RDS for MySQL.
Why D: Rehosting (lift-and-shift) on EC2 with RDS for MySQL is the correct strategy because it moves the existing single-server application to AWS with minimal changes while offloading database management to RDS. This minimizes operational overhead compared to managing MySQL on EC2 and preserves application compatibility, satisfying the requirement without a costly rewrite. It also enables vertical/horizontal scaling of the EC2 tier and Multi-AZ/read replicas on RDS.
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.