SAP-C02 Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions Practice Question
A company is using AWS Lambda functions to process data from an SQS queue. The Lambda function sometimes fails due to transient errors, but the messages are not being retried. Which configuration should the company check to ensure proper retry behavior?
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
✓
Adjust the Maximum retries setting in the Lambda event source mapping
The correct setting is the 'Maximum retries' in the Lambda event source mapping for SQS. This parameter controls how many times Lambda will retry a failed message batch (default is 3). Option A is incorrect because the dead-letter queue (DLQ) is used to store messages that have failed after all retries are exhausted, not to control the number of retries. Option C is incorrect because the SQS queue's redrive policy 'maxReceiveCount' is used for SQS redrive to a DLQ, not for Lambda retries. Option D is incorrect because the SQS queue's Default visibility timeout determines how long a message is hidden after being received, but does not affect the retry count for Lambda processing.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Configure the Lambda function's dead-letter queue (DLQ)
Why it's wrong here
DLQ is for sending failed messages after retries are exhausted.
- ✓
Adjust the Maximum retries setting in the Lambda event source mapping
Why this is correct
This setting directly controls how many times Lambda retries failed messages from SQS.
- ✗
Set the SQS queue's redrive policy maxReceiveCount to a higher value
Why it's wrong here
maxReceiveCount is for SQS redrive to DLQ, not Lambda retry.
- ✗
Increase the SQS queue's Default visibility timeout
Why it's wrong here
Visibility timeout controls message hiding duration, not retry count.
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 |
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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.