SAP-C02 Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions Practice Question
A media company runs a video transcoding pipeline on AWS using Amazon EC2 Spot Instances. The pipeline uses a custom AMI with pre-installed software. The operations team notices that the latest AMI is not always used when new instances launch, causing inconsistent transcoding results. What should the team do to ensure that all new Spot Instances use the latest AMI?
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 an EC2 Auto Scaling group with a launch template that dynamically references the latest AMI ID from AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store.
Using an EC2 Auto Scaling group with a launch template that dynamically references the latest AMI ID from AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store ensures that new instances automatically use the most recent AMI without manual intervention. Option A is incorrect because launch configurations are immutable and cannot reference dynamic parameters like SSM Parameter Store; they require creating a new launch configuration each time the AMI changes. Option B is incorrect because CloudFormation updates require manual initiation and do not automatically track the latest AMI. Option C is incorrect because manually updating the AMI ID in the Auto Scaling group configuration is error-prone and not automated.
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 a new launch configuration each time a new AMI is released and associate it with the Auto Scaling group.
Why it's wrong here
Launch configurations do not support dynamic AMI IDs; they are immutable.
- ✗
Use AWS CloudFormation to update the stack with the new AMI ID and then manually trigger a rolling update.
Why it's wrong here
This still requires manual steps and does not automatically use the latest AMI.
- ✗
Manually update the AMI ID in the EC2 Auto Scaling group configuration every time a new AMI is released.
Why it's wrong here
Manual updates are error-prone and not scalable.
- ✓
Use an EC2 Auto Scaling group with a launch template that dynamically references the latest AMI ID from AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store.
Why this is correct
This allows automatic retrieval of the latest AMI ID at launch time.
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