The answer is a Multi-AZ deployment with synchronous replication between two EC2 instances. This configuration is correct because synchronous replication ensures that data written to the primary EBS volume is simultaneously mirrored to the standby instance, guaranteeing an RPO of 5 minutes by preventing any data loss, while the automatic failover to the standby instance achieves an RTO of 15 minutes. On the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional SAP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of stateful disaster recovery versus stateless scaling—a common trap is confusing Auto Scaling groups or EBS Snapshots for recovery, but snapshots have a much higher RPO (typically minutes to hours) and cannot meet the 5-minute target. Remember the memory tip: “Sync for zero loss, snap for slow cost”—synchronous replication is the only way to hit sub-minute RPO for EC2 with EBS.
SAP-C02 Practice Question: Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of accelerate workload migration and modernization. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 is migrating a critical application to AWS and needs to ensure it meets a Recovery Time Objective (RTO) of 15 minutes and a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of 5 minutes. The application runs on EC2 with an EBS volume. Which configuration should the company use?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Multi-AZ deployment with synchronous replication between two instances.
Option D is correct because Multi-AZ with synchronous replication provides low RTO and RPO. Option A is wrong because a single EC2 instance does not provide failover. Option B is wrong because EBS Snapshots have higher RPO. Option C is wrong because an Auto Scaling group alone does not handle stateful recovery.
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.
✓
Multi-AZ deployment with synchronous replication between two instances.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Single EC2 instance with EBS snapshots every 5 minutes.
Why it's wrong here
Snapshots cannot guarantee 5-minute RPO due to time to create.
✗
Two EC2 instances in an Auto Scaling group with a warm standby.
Why it's wrong here
Warm standby can meet RTO but RPO depends on data replication.
✗
EC2 instance with Elastic Disaster Recovery service.
Why it's wrong here
Elastic Disaster Recovery can meet these metrics, but Multi-AZ is simpler.
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.
Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization — This question tests Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Multi-AZ deployment with synchronous replication between two instances. — Option D is correct because Multi-AZ with synchronous replication provides low RTO and RPO. Option A is wrong because a single EC2 instance does not provide failover. Option B is wrong because EBS Snapshots have higher RPO. Option C is wrong because an Auto Scaling group alone does not handle stateful recovery.
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.
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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