- A
AWS Global Accelerator
Why wrong: Global Accelerator improves application performance by directing traffic over the AWS global network, but it is not specifically designed for distributing traffic across multiple AZs within a region.
- B
Application Load Balancer
An Application Load Balancer automatically distributes incoming traffic across multiple targets, such as EC2 instances, in multiple Availability Zones, ensuring high availability.
- C
AWS Direct Connect
Why wrong: Direct Connect establishes a dedicated network connection from on-premises to AWS, not for distributing traffic across AZs.
- D
Amazon Route 53
Why wrong: Route 53 is a DNS service that can route traffic to endpoints, but it does not distribute traffic across multiple AZs with health checks and load balancing.
Distributing Incoming Traffic Across Multiple Availability Zones with ALB
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 company is designing a multi-tier web application on AWS. The application requires high availability across multiple Availability Zones. Which AWS service should be used to distribute incoming traffic across multiple EC2 instances in different Availability Zones?
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
Application Load Balancer
The Application Load Balancer (ALB) operates at Layer 7 of the OSI model and is designed to distribute incoming HTTP/HTTPS traffic across multiple targets, such as EC2 instances, in different Availability Zones. By registering instances in multiple AZs and enabling cross-zone load balancing, the ALB provides high availability and fault tolerance for the multi-tier web application.
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.
- ✗
AWS Global Accelerator
Why it's wrong here
Global Accelerator improves application performance by directing traffic over the AWS global network, but it is not specifically designed for distributing traffic across multiple AZs within a region.
- ✓
Application Load Balancer
Why this is correct
An Application Load Balancer automatically distributes incoming traffic across multiple targets, such as EC2 instances, in multiple Availability Zones, ensuring high availability.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
AWS Direct Connect
Why it's wrong here
Direct Connect establishes a dedicated network connection from on-premises to AWS, not for distributing traffic across AZs.
- ✗
Amazon Route 53
Why it's wrong here
Route 53 is a DNS service that can route traffic to endpoints, but it does not distribute traffic across multiple AZs with health checks and load balancing.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse DNS-based routing (Route 53) with actual load balancing, but Route 53 only provides DNS resolution and does not actively distribute traffic across instances or perform health checks at the application layer.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The Application Load Balancer uses a request routing algorithm based on the least outstanding requests (LOR) per target, and it supports path-based and host-based routing for microservices architectures. Under the hood, the ALB maintains a connection table and uses TLS termination at the load balancer, offloading encryption from backend instances. In a real-world scenario, if one AZ becomes impaired, the ALB automatically stops sending traffic to unhealthy instances in that AZ, ensuring continued availability without manual intervention.
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 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.
Quick reference
OSI Model Reference
| Layer | Name | PDU | Key Protocols / Devices |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Application | Data | HTTP, HTTPS, DNS, SMTP, FTP, SSH |
| 6 | Presentation | Data | TLS / SSL, JPEG, ASCII encoding |
| 5 | Session | Data | NetBIOS, RPC, SIP |
| 4 | Transport | Segment / Datagram | TCP, UDP |
| 3 | Network | Packet | IP, ICMP, OSPF — Routers |
| 2 | Data Link | Frame | Ethernet, Wi-Fi, PPP — Switches, Bridges |
| 1 | Physical | Bits | Cables, NICs, Hubs, Repeaters |
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.
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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: Application Load Balancer — The Application Load Balancer (ALB) operates at Layer 7 of the OSI model and is designed to distribute incoming HTTP/HTTPS traffic across multiple targets, such as EC2 instances, in different Availability Zones. By registering instances in multiple AZs and enabling cross-zone load balancing, the ALB provides high availability and fault tolerance for the multi-tier web application.
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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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 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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