SAP-C02 Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions Practice Question
A company is running a containerized microservices application on Amazon ECS with Fargate launch type. The application experiences increased latency during peak hours. Upon investigation, the CPU utilization of the tasks reaches 90%. The ECS service is configured with a target tracking scaling policy based on average CPU at 70%. However, scaling is not keeping up with demand. What should a solutions architect do to improve the responsiveness of the scaling?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently assume decreasing the target tracking threshold (Option B) will make scaling faster, but they overlook that target tracking is inherently gradual and cannot match the immediate response of a step scaling policy during sudden load spikes.
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
✓
Add a step scaling policy that adds 4 tasks when CPU exceeds 80% for 1 minute.
Adding a step scaling policy provides a more aggressive and immediate scaling response when CPU exceeds 80% for 1 minute, which complements the existing target tracking policy. Target tracking scaling policies are reactive and may not scale quickly enough during rapid demand spikes, whereas step scaling can add a fixed number of tasks instantly when a breach occurs, reducing latency during peak hours.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Increase the task-level CPU limit to 2048 units.
Why it's wrong here
Increasing CPU limit per task does not change scaling behavior.
- ✗
Decrease the target tracking value to 50% average CPU.
Why it's wrong here
Lowering threshold may cause frequent scaling but not necessarily faster response to spikes.
- ✓
Add a step scaling policy that adds 4 tasks when CPU exceeds 80% for 1 minute.
Why this is correct
Step scaling can add capacity in larger increments, improving response to spikes.
- ✗
Decrease the scale-in cooldown period to 60 seconds.
Why it's wrong here
Scale-in cooldown affects termination, not launch speed.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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