- A
Use Network Load Balancer to distribute trade requests to a fleet of EC2 instances running a custom Java application. The application processes trades and writes to Amazon RDS for MySQL with Multi-AZ.
Why wrong: EC2 instances introduce operational overhead; RDS MySQL may not meet latency requirements.
- B
Use Amazon API Gateway to ingest trades, publish to an SNS topic, subscribe an SQS queue and a Lambda function. Lambda validates and enriches, then stores in DynamoDB.
Why wrong: SNS does not provide durable buffering; if Lambda fails, messages may be lost.
- C
Use Amazon API Gateway to ingest trades, send to an SQS FIFO queue for ordered processing, trigger an AWS Lambda function for validation and enrichment, and store in DynamoDB.
Why wrong: SQS FIFO queues are limited to 300 transactions per second, insufficient for 10,000 tps.
- D
Use Amazon API Gateway to ingest trades, send to Amazon Kinesis Data Streams for buffering, use AWS Lambda to process in parallel, and store results in DynamoDB with on-demand capacity.
Kinesis can handle high throughput, Lambda scales automatically, DynamoDB provides low-latency storage.
Quick Answer
The answer is to use Amazon API Gateway, Kinesis Data Streams, AWS Lambda, and DynamoDB with on-demand capacity. This combination directly meets the high throughput and low latency requirements because Kinesis Data Streams provides a durable, ordered buffer that can ingest 10,000 trades per second, while Lambda scales horizontally to process each shard in parallel, and DynamoDB delivers single-digit millisecond writes for regulatory storage. On the SAP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your ability to select managed services that handle real-time stock trade processing without operational overhead, and the common trap is choosing SQS FIFO (limited to 300 TPS) or SNS (no persistent buffer). Remember the mnemonic “AKLD” (API, Kinesis, Lambda, DynamoDB) to recall the four services that form a fully managed, scalable pipeline for high-frequency event processing.
SAP-C02 Design for New Solutions Practice Question
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of design for new solutions. 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 financial services company is designing a new system on AWS to process real-time stock trades. The system must handle up to 10,000 trades per second with end-to-end latency under 500 milliseconds. Trades are ingested via REST API, validated, enriched with market data, and stored in a database for regulatory compliance. The architecture must be highly available across three Availability Zones. The company wants to use AWS managed services to minimize operational overhead. Which solution should a Solutions Architect recommend?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"minimum / minimize"Why it matters: Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
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
Use Amazon API Gateway to ingest trades, send to Amazon Kinesis Data Streams for buffering, use AWS Lambda to process in parallel, and store results in DynamoDB with on-demand capacity.
Option C is correct because it uses API Gateway for ingestion, Kinesis Data Streams for buffering, Lambda for processing (scale to handle 10k tps), and DynamoDB for low-latency storage. Option A is wrong because SQS does not guarantee ordering for high throughput FIFO queues (limited to 300 tps). Option B is wrong because EC2 instances introduce management overhead and may not scale as quickly. Option D is wrong because SNS does not provide a persistent buffer; messages can be lost if subscriber is unavailable.
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.
- ✗
Use Network Load Balancer to distribute trade requests to a fleet of EC2 instances running a custom Java application. The application processes trades and writes to Amazon RDS for MySQL with Multi-AZ.
Why it's wrong here
EC2 instances introduce operational overhead; RDS MySQL may not meet latency requirements.
- ✗
Use Amazon API Gateway to ingest trades, publish to an SNS topic, subscribe an SQS queue and a Lambda function. Lambda validates and enriches, then stores in DynamoDB.
Why it's wrong here
SNS does not provide durable buffering; if Lambda fails, messages may be lost.
- ✗
Use Amazon API Gateway to ingest trades, send to an SQS FIFO queue for ordered processing, trigger an AWS Lambda function for validation and enrichment, and store in DynamoDB.
Why it's wrong here
SQS FIFO queues are limited to 300 transactions per second, insufficient for 10,000 tps.
- ✓
Use Amazon API Gateway to ingest trades, send to Amazon Kinesis Data Streams for buffering, use AWS Lambda to process in parallel, and store results in DynamoDB with on-demand capacity.
Why this is correct
Kinesis can handle high throughput, Lambda scales automatically, DynamoDB provides low-latency storage.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
- Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
- Underline the problem statement mentally.
- 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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which SAP-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
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Design for New Solutions — study guide chapter
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Design for New Solutions practice questions
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SAP-C02 question test?
Design for New Solutions — This question tests Design for New Solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use Amazon API Gateway to ingest trades, send to Amazon Kinesis Data Streams for buffering, use AWS Lambda to process in parallel, and store results in DynamoDB with on-demand capacity. — Option C is correct because it uses API Gateway for ingestion, Kinesis Data Streams for buffering, Lambda for processing (scale to handle 10k tps), and DynamoDB for low-latency storage. Option A is wrong because SQS does not guarantee ordering for high throughput FIFO queues (limited to 300 tps). Option B is wrong because EC2 instances introduce management overhead and may not scale as quickly. Option D is wrong because SNS does not provide a persistent buffer; messages can be lost if subscriber is unavailable.
What should I do if I get this SAP-C02 question wrong?
Identify which SAP-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "minimum / minimize". Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 20, 2026
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.
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