Quick Answer
The Strangler Fig pattern is the correct choice for incrementally migrating a legacy monolithic application to microservices. This pattern, inspired by the strangler fig vine that gradually envelops and replaces its host tree, allows you to build new microservice functionality alongside the existing system and route traffic to the new components piece by piece, reducing risk and enabling a gradual migration even with complex dependencies. On the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional SAP-C02 exam, this pattern tests your understanding of migration strategies that minimize disruption—it often appears in scenario-based questions where the key phrase is “gradual replacement” or “incremental modernization.” A common trap is confusing it with Blue/Green deployment, which is a release strategy for swapping entire environments, not a pattern for refactoring application logic. Remember the mnemonic: “Strangler replaces, Blue/Green replaces the whole place.”
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of accelerate workload migration and modernization. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 modernizing a legacy application by breaking it into microservices. The application has a complex set of dependencies and requires gradual migration. Which design pattern should the company use?
Blue/Green deployment pattern
Why wrong: Blue/Green is for zero-downtime deployments, not gradual migration.
Saga pattern
Why wrong: Saga manages distributed transactions.
Strangler Fig pattern
Strangler Fig allows gradually replacing monolith components with microservices.
Circuit Breaker pattern
Why wrong: Circuit Breaker handles failures in distributed systems.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Strangler Fig pattern
B is correct because Strangler Fig pattern allows incremental replacement of functionality. A is wrong because Blue/Green is a deployment strategy. C is wrong because Circuit Breaker is for fault tolerance. D is wrong because Saga is for distributed transactions.
Key principle: NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Blue/Green deployment pattern
Why it's wrong here
Blue/Green is for zero-downtime deployments, not gradual migration.
Saga pattern
Why it's wrong here
Saga manages distributed transactions.
Strangler Fig pattern
Why this is correct
Strangler Fig allows gradually replacing monolith components with microservices.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
Circuit Breaker pattern
Why it's wrong here
Circuit Breaker handles failures in distributed systems.
Common exam traps
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Detailed technical explanation
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
Key takeaway
NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Real-world example
A cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
What to study next
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related SAP-C02 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization — study guide chapter
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Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization practice questions
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FAQ
Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization — This question tests Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
The correct answer is: Strangler Fig pattern — B is correct because Strangler Fig pattern allows incremental replacement of functionality. A is wrong because Blue/Green is a deployment strategy. C is wrong because Circuit Breaker is for fault tolerance. D is wrong because Saga is for distributed transactions.
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related SAP-C02 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
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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 modernizing a legacy application by breaking it into microservices. The application uses a shared MySQL database. The team wants to refactor the database to use Amazon DynamoDB for better scalability. Which migration strategy should be used?
hardWhy B: Option A is correct because the Strangler Fig pattern allows gradual migration of data and logic. Option B (retire) is for decommissioning. Option C (rehost) does not change database. Option D (replatform) may still use relational.
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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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