- A
Federate using SAML 2.0 with on-premises ADFS and map AD groups to IAM roles.
Why wrong: SAML federation is for web console access, not for EC2 domain join or other AWS services that require AD.
- B
Deploy AD Connector in each VPC to proxy authentication requests to on-premises Active Directory.
Why wrong: AD Connector does not provide a managed directory; it only proxies requests, which may increase latency.
- C
Set up AWS Managed Microsoft AD and establish a trust with the on-premises Active Directory. Use IAM roles to grant access based on AD groups.
AWS Managed Microsoft AD supports trust relationships and can be used for IAM authentication.
- D
Use AWS Directory Service Simple AD and synchronize with on-premises Active Directory using AD Connector.
Why wrong: Simple AD is a Samba-based directory, not full Active Directory; it cannot join EC2 instances to the domain.
SAP-C02 Practice Question: Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of design solutions for organizational complexity. 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 its on-premises Active Directory to AWS Managed Microsoft AD. They need to ensure that users can authenticate to AWS resources using their existing corporate credentials. What is the MOST secure and scalable solution?
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
Set up AWS Managed Microsoft AD and establish a trust with the on-premises Active Directory. Use IAM roles to grant access based on AD groups.
Option C is correct because AWS Managed Microsoft AD can establish a forest trust with an on-premises Active Directory, allowing users to authenticate using their existing corporate credentials. This approach is secure (Kerberos-based trust, no password exposure) and scalable (AWS handles AD infrastructure). IAM roles can then be mapped to AD groups via SAML or IAM Identity Center for fine-grained access to AWS resources.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Federate using SAML 2.0 with on-premises ADFS and map AD groups to IAM roles.
Why it's wrong here
SAML federation is for web console access, not for EC2 domain join or other AWS services that require AD.
- ✗
Deploy AD Connector in each VPC to proxy authentication requests to on-premises Active Directory.
Why it's wrong here
AD Connector does not provide a managed directory; it only proxies requests, which may increase latency.
- ✓
Set up AWS Managed Microsoft AD and establish a trust with the on-premises Active Directory. Use IAM roles to grant access based on AD groups.
Why this is correct
AWS Managed Microsoft AD supports trust relationships and can be used for IAM authentication.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Use AWS Directory Service Simple AD and synchronize with on-premises Active Directory using AD Connector.
Why it's wrong here
Simple AD is a Samba-based directory, not full Active Directory; it cannot join EC2 instances to the domain.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse AD Connector (a proxy) with a trust relationship, thinking it provides the same level of integration, but AD Connector does not support native Kerberos trusts or scalable authentication for AWS Managed Microsoft AD migration.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
A forest trust between AWS Managed Microsoft AD and on-premises AD uses Kerberos v5 authentication, enabling transitive trust across domains. This allows users to authenticate to AWS resources via IAM Identity Center or SAML 2.0 federation, where AD groups are mapped to IAM roles using attribute-based access control (ABAC) or group-to-role mappings. In a real-world scenario, this setup supports seamless single sign-on (SSO) for hybrid environments while keeping credentials on-premises, meeting compliance requirements.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SAP-C02 question test?
Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity — This question tests Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Set up AWS Managed Microsoft AD and establish a trust with the on-premises Active Directory. Use IAM roles to grant access based on AD groups. — Option C is correct because AWS Managed Microsoft AD can establish a forest trust with an on-premises Active Directory, allowing users to authenticate using their existing corporate credentials. This approach is secure (Kerberos-based trust, no password exposure) and scalable (AWS handles AD infrastructure). IAM roles can then be mapped to AD groups via SAML or IAM Identity Center for fine-grained access to AWS resources.
What should I do if I get this SAP-C02 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 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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