- A
Create an AWS Glue table or use Athena's CREATE TABLE statement to define the schema of the Flow Logs.
Athena needs a table definition to query the data.
- B
Ensure the Flow Logs are delivered in GZIP format (default) or uncompressed.
Athena supports GZIP compressed CSV files.
- C
Deliver VPC Flow Logs from each account to a centralized S3 bucket in the logging account.
Centralized storage is needed for cross-account analysis.
- D
Replicate the S3 bucket to a single AWS Region for consistency.
Why wrong: Flow Logs should be delivered to a single region; cross-region replication adds latency and cost.
- E
Configure a Kinesis Data Firehose delivery stream to convert Flow Logs to Parquet format.
Why wrong: Parquet conversion is optional but not required; Athena can query GZIP CSV.
SAP-C02 Practice Question: Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of design solutions for organizational complexity. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 has a multi-account AWS environment with a centralized logging account. The security team needs to analyze VPC Flow Logs from all accounts using Amazon Athena. Which THREE steps are required to enable this analysis? (Choose THREE.)
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
Create an AWS Glue table or use Athena's CREATE TABLE statement to define the schema of the Flow Logs.
Option A is correct because Athena requires a schema definition to query data in S3. You can either create an AWS Glue table (which is a managed schema catalog) or use Athena's CREATE TABLE statement to define the schema for VPC Flow Logs, including fields like version, account-id, interface-id, srcaddr, dstaddr, etc. Without this schema, Athena cannot parse the raw flow log data.
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.
- ✓
Create an AWS Glue table or use Athena's CREATE TABLE statement to define the schema of the Flow Logs.
Why this is correct
Athena needs a table definition to query the data.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Ensure the Flow Logs are delivered in GZIP format (default) or uncompressed.
Why this is correct
Athena supports GZIP compressed CSV files.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Deliver VPC Flow Logs from each account to a centralized S3 bucket in the logging account.
Why this is correct
Centralized storage is needed for cross-account analysis.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Replicate the S3 bucket to a single AWS Region for consistency.
Why it's wrong here
Flow Logs should be delivered to a single region; cross-region replication adds latency and cost.
- ✗
Configure a Kinesis Data Firehose delivery stream to convert Flow Logs to Parquet format.
Why it's wrong here
Parquet conversion is optional but not required; Athena can query GZIP CSV.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may think converting to Parquet or replicating across regions is mandatory, but AWS allows direct querying of GZIP text files in a single centralized S3 bucket without additional transformation or replication.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
VPC Flow Logs are delivered as text files (default GZIP compressed) with space-separated fields. Athena uses the SerDe (Serializer/Deserializer) to parse these files; the default LazySimpleSerDe works for space-delimited logs. The schema must match the exact field order and names as defined in the VPC Flow Logs documentation (e.g., version, account-id, interface-id, srcaddr, dstaddr, srcport, dstport, protocol, packets, bytes, start, end, action, log-status).
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
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SAP-C02 question test?
Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity — This question tests Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create an AWS Glue table or use Athena's CREATE TABLE statement to define the schema of the Flow Logs. — Option A is correct because Athena requires a schema definition to query data in S3. You can either create an AWS Glue table (which is a managed schema catalog) or use Athena's CREATE TABLE statement to define the schema for VPC Flow Logs, including fields like version, account-id, interface-id, srcaddr, dstaddr, etc. Without this schema, Athena cannot parse the raw flow log data.
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
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