SAP-C02 AWS Snowball Edge Practice Question
A company is migrating an on-premises data center to AWS. The company has a large amount of data (50 TB) that needs to be transferred quickly. The internet connection is limited to 100 Mbps. Which TWO methods should the solutions architect consider for the initial data transfer? (Select TWO.)
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
✓
Use AWS Snowball Edge devices to ship the data
AWS Snowball Edge is a physical device for offline data transfer, ideal for large datasets (50 TB) over slow networks (100 Mbps). AWS Direct Connect provides a dedicated, high-bandwidth connection that can be provisioned relatively quickly (within days) and offers consistent speeds, making it suitable for the initial transfer. Option D (AWS DataSync over the internet) is not appropriate because it would take approximately 46 days to transfer 50 TB at 100 Mbps, which is not 'quick'. VPN and rsync (A) are also limited by internet bandwidth, and S3 Transfer Acceleration (E) improves performance but does not bypass bandwidth constraints.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Use a VPN connection and rsync
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. VPN connections are limited by the internet bandwidth (100 Mbps), making transfer of 50 TB too slow for a quick initial transfer.
- ✓
Use AWS Snowball Edge devices to ship the data
Why this is correct
Correct. Snowball Edge provides offline physical shipping, bypassing network constraints and enabling fast, large-scale data transfer.
- ✓
Set up an AWS Direct Connect connection
Why this is correct
Correct. AWS Direct Connect offers a dedicated network connection with higher and consistent bandwidth, allowing faster transfer than the internet and can be provisioned within days.
- ✗
Use AWS DataSync to transfer data over the internet
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. AWS DataSync optimizes transfers but is still constrained by the 100 Mbps internet link; 50 TB would take about 46 days, not meeting the 'quick' requirement.
- ✗
Use Amazon S3 Transfer Acceleration
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. S3 Transfer Acceleration uses optimized routing but is still limited by the 100 Mbps internet speed, making it unsuitable for quick transfer of 50 TB.
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
Related to this question
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every SAP-C02 question from scratch — 1,660 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.