The correct combination is to share approved AMIs from a central account with all target accounts and then apply an SCP that denies ec2:RunInstances with a condition that the image owner is not the central account. This works because the SCP uses the ec2:ImageOwner condition key to block any EC2 launch attempt where the AMI’s owner ID does not match the central account, effectively enforcing that only approved AMIs can launch EC2 instances. On the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional SAP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how to combine resource sharing with preventive guardrails at the organization level, often appearing as a multi-select question where a common trap is choosing a resource-based policy instead of an SCP. Remember that SCPs deny by default, so you must explicitly allow the central account’s AMIs while blocking all others. Memory tip: think “Owner Lock” — the SCP locks the launch to a single owner ID.
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 uses AWS Organizations with a large number of accounts. The security team needs to enforce that only approved AMIs from a central account can be used to launch EC2 instances in all accounts. Which combination of actions should be taken? (Choose TWO.)
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Share the approved AMIs from the central account with all other accounts.
Option A is correct because sharing AMIs from a central account with all other accounts allows those accounts to launch EC2 instances using the approved AMIs. Option C is correct because applying a service control policy (SCP) that denies ec2:RunInstances with a condition that the image owner is not the central account enforces that only AMIs owned by the central account can be used, preventing the use of unapproved AMIs from other sources.
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.
✓
Share the approved AMIs from the central account with all other accounts.
Why this is correct
Necessary so that accounts can launch from those AMIs.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use AWS CloudFormation Guard to validate templates before deployment.
Why it's wrong here
Guard is for infrastructure as code, not for runtime enforcement.
✓
Apply an SCP that denies ec2:RunInstances with a condition that the image owner is not the central account.
Why this is correct
This prevents launching instances with non-approved AMIs.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use AWS Service Catalog to create a product for approved AMIs.
Why it's wrong here
Service Catalog doesn't enforce AMI usage across all accounts directly.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often think AWS Service Catalog or CloudFormation Guard can enforce organization-wide AMI restrictions, but they lack the ability to block direct API calls across all accounts without an SCP.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
SCPs in AWS Organizations are evaluated before IAM policies and can use condition keys like ec2:ImageOwner to restrict which AMI owners are allowed. When an AMI is shared from a central account, the image owner is the central account ID, so the SCP condition 'StringNotEquals' on ec2:ImageOwner with the central account ID effectively blocks all other AMIs. This approach works at the API level, preventing any EC2 RunInstances call that does not match the approved owner, regardless of how the launch is initiated.
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 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. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. 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
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.
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: Share the approved AMIs from the central account with all other accounts. — Option A is correct because sharing AMIs from a central account with all other accounts allows those accounts to launch EC2 instances using the approved AMIs. Option C is correct because applying a service control policy (SCP) that denies ec2:RunInstances with a condition that the image owner is not the central account enforces that only AMIs owned by the central account can be used, preventing the use of unapproved AMIs from other sources.
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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Question Discussion
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