SAP-C02 Practice Question: Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization
A company is planning to migrate a large .NET application to AWS. The application uses IIS and SQL Server. Which TWO AWS services can be used to rehost the application with minimal 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
✓
Amazon EC2 with Windows Server
Amazon EC2 with Windows Server (B) is correct because it lets the company rehost the existing .NET/IIS application on a Windows Server instance with minimal changes, since IIS and the .NET runtime run natively on the VM just as they did on-premises. Amazon RDS for SQL Server (D) is correct because it provides a managed SQL Server engine that is compatible with the application's existing database, so the database can be migrated with little or no code change. AWS Elastic Beanstalk (C) is not the best fit here because it is a PaaS that abstracts the infrastructure and typically requires application packaging/deployment changes rather than a straight rehost of an IIS/SQL Server stack. Amazon Aurora (A) is a MySQL/PostgreSQL-compatible engine and does not support SQL Server, so it would require database conversion. AWS Lambda (E) is a serverless compute service that cannot run a full IIS/.NET application with SQL Server dependencies without significant re-architecture.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Amazon Aurora
Why it's wrong here
Aurora is a MySQL- and PostgreSQL-compatible engine, so it cannot host SQL Server databases or accept their T-SQL and native backups. Aurora fits new cloud-native relational workloads, not a lift-and-shift of an existing SQL Server instance.
- ✓
Amazon EC2 with Windows Server
Why this is correct
Amazon EC2 with Windows Server satisfies the rehost requirement by running the unmodified .NET application on IIS and SQL Server, since the customer manages the guest OS and full software stack. Unlike managed platform services that demand code or configuration changes, lift-and-shift onto EC2 instances preserves the existing architecture with minimal modification.
- ✗
AWS Elastic Beanstalk
Why it's wrong here
Elastic Beanstalk may require application changes to fit the platform.
- ✓
Amazon RDS for SQL Server
Why this is correct
Amazon RDS for SQL Server runs the existing SQL Server database engine with minimal application changes, satisfying the rehost constraint. RDS handles patching, backups and high availability, reducing operational overhead while remaining compatible with the .NET application's data layer.
- ✗
AWS Lambda
Why it's wrong here
Lambda runs code without a Windows host, so IIS-hosted .NET Framework applications cannot execute there; only .NET Core targets are supported. Lambda suits event-driven, short-lived functions, not lifting a full IIS and SQL Server application unchanged.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This SAP-C02 question is part of Courseiva's 984-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Same concept, more angles
2 more ways this is tested on SAP-C02
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 large-scale .NET application to AWS. The application uses Windows authentication and requires Active Directory integration. The company wants to reduce operational overhead. Which migration approach should they use?
hard- A.Rehost on EC2 with on-premises AD via VPN
- ✓ B.Rehost on EC2 with AWS Managed Microsoft AD
- C.Replatform to use Amazon Cognito for authentication
- D.Replatform to AWS Elastic Beanstalk with Amazon Lightsail
Why B: (Rehost on EC2 with AWS Managed Microsoft AD) is correct because it provides Active Directory integration without the need to manage domain controllers, reducing operational overhead. Option A (Rehost on EC2 with on-premises AD via VPN) still requires managing on-premises resources and doesn't fully reduce overhead. Option C (Replatform to use Amazon Cognito) is aimed at web identity federation, not traditional Windows AD authentication. Option D (Replatform to AWS Elastic Beanstalk with Amazon Lightsail) does not support Windows authentication or AD integration effectively.
Variation 2. A company wants to migrate a legacy .NET application to AWS. The application uses Windows authentication and requires a shared file system. Which TWO AWS services should the company use to modernize this application? (Choose two.)
easy- ✓ A.Amazon FSx for Windows File Server
- ✓ B.AWS Elastic Beanstalk
- C.Amazon S3
- D.Amazon EBS
- E.AWS Lambda
Why A: Amazon FSx for Windows File Server (A) is correct because it provides a fully managed native Windows file system supporting SMB protocol, NTFS permissions, and Active Directory integration, which satisfies the application's Windows authentication and shared file system requirements. AWS Elastic Beanstalk (B) is correct because it supports deploying and scaling .NET applications on Windows Server environments (IIS), allowing the legacy app to be modernized with minimal code changes while preserving Windows authentication. Amazon S3 (C) is object storage and does not provide SMB shares or native Windows ACL/authentication semantics needed for a shared file system. Amazon EBS (D) provides block storage volumes attached to a single EC2 instance, not a shared file system across multiple instances. AWS Lambda (E) is a serverless compute service that does not support Windows authentication or persistent shared file system access in this legacy .NET context.
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.