Quick Answer
The correct answer is Amazon ElastiCache. To make a stateful web application stateless and scalable on AWS, you offload session state from local storage to a centralized, in-memory data store like ElastiCache, which provides sub-millisecond latency for reading and writing session data across multiple application instances. This approach directly addresses the core challenge of horizontal scaling, where each instance must be able to serve any user without relying on local, instance-specific storage. On the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional SAP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of decoupling state from compute to achieve elasticity—a common trap is choosing Amazon S3 (too slow for real-time session reads) or Amazon RDS (designed for persistent relational data, not ephemeral session state). Remember the memory tip: “Cache the session, scale the fleet”—ElastiCache keeps session data fast and shared, enabling your web tier to be truly stateless.
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of accelerate workload migration and modernization. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company is migrating a stateful web application to AWS. The application uses local storage for user sessions. Which AWS service can help make the application stateless and scalable?
Amazon EBS
Why wrong: EBS volumes are not shared across instances.
Amazon ElastiCache
ElastiCache provides fast in-memory session store.
Amazon RDS
Why wrong: RDS is slower for session data and incurs higher cost.
Amazon S3
Why wrong: S3 is not designed for low-latency session storage.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Amazon ElastiCache
Amazon ElastiCache provides an in-memory cache for session data, making the application stateless. Option A is wrong because S3 is slower for session data. Option B is wrong because EBS does not provide shared storage across instances. Option D is wrong because RDS is for relational data, not session state.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Amazon EBS
Why it's wrong here
EBS volumes are not shared across instances.
Amazon ElastiCache
Why this is correct
ElastiCache provides fast in-memory session store.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Amazon RDS
Why it's wrong here
RDS is slower for session data and incurs higher cost.
Amazon S3
Why it's wrong here
S3 is not designed for low-latency session storage.
Common exam traps
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
Identify which SAP-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
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FAQ
Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization — This question tests Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Amazon ElastiCache — Amazon ElastiCache provides an in-memory cache for session data, making the application stateless. Option A is wrong because S3 is slower for session data. Option B is wrong because EBS does not provide shared storage across instances. Option D is wrong because RDS is for relational data, not session state.
Identify which SAP-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Same concept, more angles
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company is migrating a stateful application to AWS. The application uses local storage for temporary data that must survive instance restarts but not region failures. Which storage solution should the company use?
mediumWhy B: Option C is correct because Instance Store provides ephemeral storage that persists across reboots but not stops. Option A (EBS) survives stops. Option B (EFS) is network file system. Option D (S3) is object storage.
Variation 2. A company is migrating a stateful application to AWS. The application maintains session state in memory on the application server. Which AWS service should be used to store session state for high availability?
easyWhy C: Option B is correct because ElastiCache is an in-memory data store ideal for session state. Option A is wrong because RDS is relational database, slower for session state. Option C is wrong because S3 is object storage, not suitable for low-latency session state. Option D is wrong because EBS is block storage attached to a single instance.
Variation 3. A company is migrating a multi-tier web application to AWS. The application uses sticky sessions (session affinity). The company wants to use an Application Load Balancer (ALB). How should the architect configure the ALB to support sticky sessions?
mediumWhy B: Option D is correct because ALB supports sticky sessions by enabling stickiness on the target group and setting a duration. Option A is wrong because NLB does not support cookies for stickiness. Option B is wrong because stickiness is set on target group, not listener. Option C is wrong because stickiness is a feature of the load balancer, not an external service.
Variation 4. A company is migrating a stateful application to AWS. The application runs on a single on-premises server and uses local storage for persistent data. The company wants to achieve high availability and scalability. Which migration approach should the company use?
mediumWhy C: Option D is correct because moving state to a managed service decouples state from compute. Option A is wrong because a single EC2 instance is not HA. Option B is wrong because Auto Scaling alone doesn't handle state. Option C is wrong because EBS snapshots are for backup, not HA.
Last reviewed: Jun 20, 2026
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.
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