SAP-C02 Practice Question: Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity
A company uses AWS Organizations with multiple OUs. The finance team needs visibility into costs across all accounts. They want to tag resources with a 'CostCenter' tag. What is the BEST way to enforce tag propagation?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often choose reactive solutions like AWS Config auto-remediation (Option C) because they are familiar with it, but the question asks for the 'BEST' way to enforce tag propagation, which requires a preventive control (SCP) to stop untagged resources from being created in the first place.
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
✓
Apply an SCP that denies ec2:RunInstances unless the request includes the CostCenter tag.
An SCP that denies ec2:RunInstances unless the request includes the CostCenter tag enforces tag propagation at the point of resource creation. This is a preventive control that blocks non-compliant actions before they happen, ensuring all EC2 instances are tagged from the start. It leverages AWS Organizations to apply the policy across all accounts in the specified OUs, providing centralized enforcement without relying on post-creation remediation.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Use AWS Service Catalog to enforce tagging on provisioned products.
Why it's wrong here
Only applies to products provisioned via Service Catalog.
- ✗
Run a Lambda function that tags resources after creation based on the creator's cost center.
Why it's wrong here
A Lambda function tagging resources after creation cannot enforce tag propagation retroactively or prevent untagged resources from being created in the first place, failing the requirement for consistent cost visibility across all accounts. This approach is tempting because it automates tagging based on the creator’s cost centre, which would be correct in a scenario where only newly created resources need tagging and no enforcement of existing or future untagged resources is required.
- ✗
Use AWS Config rules to mark non-compliant resources and auto-remediate.
Why it's wrong here
Reactive; resources are created without tags.
- ✓
Apply an SCP that denies ec2:RunInstances unless the request includes the CostCenter tag.
Why this is correct
SCP can enforce tag requirements at creation time.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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