The correct answer involves creating permission sets in IAM Identity Center for each job function and assigning them to groups, alongside establishing a two-way forest trust between AWS Managed Microsoft AD and your existing on-premises Active Directory. This setup is correct because AWS IAM Identity Center Active Directory integration relies on a managed identity source that synchronizes users and groups automatically through the trust, eliminating manual import and enabling seamless single sign-on across multiple AWS accounts. On the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional SAP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of hybrid identity architectures and the distinction between permission sets (which define AWS permissions) and groups (which map to AD users). A common trap is assuming you must manually import users or use IAM roles directly, but the key is that IAM Identity Center manages access through groups and permission sets, not individual users. Memory tip: think “Trust and Groups” — the forest trust syncs identities, while permission sets assigned to groups control access.
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 wants to use AWS IAM Identity Center (successor to AWS SSO) to provide single sign-on access to multiple AWS accounts. They have an existing Microsoft Active Directory and want to synchronize users and groups. Which TWO actions should be taken to set this up?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Set up AWS Managed Microsoft AD in the management account and configure IAM Identity Center to use it as the identity source.
Option B is correct because AWS IAM Identity Center can use AWS Managed Microsoft AD as its identity source, enabling seamless synchronization of users and groups from an existing on-premises Active Directory via a two-way forest trust. This eliminates the need for manual import and provides a managed, highly available directory service that integrates directly with IAM Identity Center for single sign-on across multiple AWS accounts.
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.
✗
Create an IAM Identity Center identity store and manually import users from Active Directory.
Why it's wrong here
Manual import is not scalable.
✓
Set up AWS Managed Microsoft AD in the management account and configure IAM Identity Center to use it as the identity source.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Install the AWS Directory Service AD Connector and point it to the on-premises Active Directory.
Why it's wrong here
AD Connector does not support IAM Identity Center sync.
✓
Create permission sets in IAM Identity Center for each job function and assign them to groups.
Why this is correct
Permission sets determine access levels.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Configure AWS CloudTrail to log all sign-in events.
Why it's wrong here
Not required for setup.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse AD Connector (which only proxies authentication) with AWS Managed Microsoft AD (which provides a full directory that can be synchronized with IAM Identity Center), leading them to incorrectly select option C as a valid identity source for IAM Identity Center.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
IAM Identity Center uses a synchronized identity store that can be populated from AWS Managed Microsoft AD via automatic provisioning, leveraging the SCIM (System for Cross-domain Identity Management) v2.0 protocol to push user and group updates. The two-way forest trust between AWS Managed Microsoft AD and on-premises AD allows users to authenticate with their existing credentials while IAM Identity Center maps them to permission sets, which are collections of IAM policies that define access levels for AWS accounts.
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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
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: Set up AWS Managed Microsoft AD in the management account and configure IAM Identity Center to use it as the identity source. — Option B is correct because AWS IAM Identity Center can use AWS Managed Microsoft AD as its identity source, enabling seamless synchronization of users and groups from an existing on-premises Active Directory via a two-way forest trust. This eliminates the need for manual import and provides a managed, highly available directory service that integrates directly with IAM Identity Center for single sign-on across multiple AWS accounts.
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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