SAP-C02 Design for New Solutions Practice Question
A startup is building a serverless application using AWS Lambda. They need to store session state that can be shared across multiple Lambda invocations. Which AWS service should they use?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to choose DynamoDB because it is a common serverless database, but they overlook that the question specifically asks for shared session state across invocations, which demands in-memory caching for performance, not a persistent database.
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
✓
Amazon ElastiCache for Redis
Amazon ElastiCache for Redis is the correct choice because it provides a low-latency, in-memory data store that can be shared across multiple Lambda invocations. Redis supports data structures like strings, hashes, and lists, making it ideal for storing session state that needs to be accessed and updated quickly by concurrent serverless functions.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Amazon ElastiCache for Redis
Why this is correct
Provides low-latency in-memory caching for session state.
- ✗
Amazon S3
Why it's wrong here
S3 has higher latency for session state.
- ✗
Amazon DynamoDB
Why it's wrong here
DynamoDB is a NoSQL database, but not ideal for low-latency session state compared to ElastiCache.
- ✗
Amazon CloudFront
Why it's wrong here
CloudFront is a content delivery network.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.