SAP-C02 Practice Question: Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization
A company is migrating a multi-tier application to AWS and wants to modernize by using containers and serverless technologies. The application consists of a Node.js frontend, a Java backend, and a PostgreSQL database. The company wants to reduce operational overhead and improve scalability. Which TWO strategies should the company use? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates assume that any use of containers or serverless must involve Lambda, but for stateful or long-running Java backends, ECS with Fargate is more appropriate than Lambda, and DynamoDB is not a drop-in replacement for PostgreSQL without significant application changes.
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 to Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL
Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL reduces operational overhead by managing backups, patching, and replication, while providing scalability through read replicas and storage auto-scaling. This aligns with the goal of modernizing the database layer without changing the database engine, avoiding the need to refactor the application to use a NoSQL database like DynamoDB.
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 Node.js frontend to run on AWS Lambda with Amazon API Gateway
Why it's wrong here
Lambda is suitable for Node.js, but the question asks for TWO strategies; the Java backend and database are better candidates for modernization.
- ✓
Migrate the database to Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL
Why this is correct
RDS reduces operational overhead compared to managing PostgreSQL on EC2.
- ✗
Migrate the database to Amazon DynamoDB
Why it's wrong here
DynamoDB is NoSQL and would require application changes.
- ✓
Deploy the Java backend on Amazon ECS with AWS Fargate
Why this is correct
Fargate eliminates server management for containers.
- ✗
Deploy the Java backend on Amazon EC2 with Auto Scaling
Why it's wrong here
EC2 requires managing servers; not as modernized as Fargate.
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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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.