- A
Use S3 cross-region replication.
Why wrong: Replication copies objects, but does not grant access.
- B
Grant the partner's AWS account access via a bucket policy.
A bucket policy can grant cross-account access to the partner's account.
- C
Create a pre-signed URL for the partner.
Why wrong: Pre-signed URLs are for temporary access, not for using partner's own credentials.
- D
Provide the partner with an IAM user in the company's account.
Why wrong: This would require sharing credentials, not using partner's own account.
SAP-C02 Design for New Solutions Practice Question
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 wants to share a large dataset stored in Amazon S3 with a partner who has their own AWS account. The partner needs to access the data using their own account credentials. Which approach should the company use?
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
Grant the partner's AWS account access via a bucket policy.
Option B is correct because a bucket policy can grant cross-account access to the partner's AWS account by specifying the partner's AWS account ID as the principal. This allows the partner's IAM users or roles to access the S3 bucket directly using their own credentials, without needing to share access keys or create users in the company's account. The bucket policy must explicitly allow the necessary actions (e.g., s3:GetObject) and the partner must also have an IAM policy that permits the same actions.
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.
- ✗
Use S3 cross-region replication.
Why it's wrong here
Replication copies objects, but does not grant access.
- ✓
Grant the partner's AWS account access via a bucket policy.
Why this is correct
A bucket policy can grant cross-account access to the partner's account.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Create a pre-signed URL for the partner.
Why it's wrong here
Pre-signed URLs are for temporary access, not for using partner's own credentials.
- ✗
Provide the partner with an IAM user in the company's account.
Why it's wrong here
This would require sharing credentials, not using partner's own account.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The SAP-C02 exam often tests the misconception that pre-signed URLs are the only way to grant temporary access, but the question explicitly requires the partner to use their own account credentials, which only a bucket policy (or an S3 access point with a policy) can achieve.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, cross-account access via bucket policy works by the company's bucket policy granting permissions to the partner's AWS account (as a principal), and the partner's IAM policy must also allow the same S3 actions. The AWS Security Token Service (STS) is not needed here because the partner's IAM users can directly access the bucket if the bucket policy allows it; however, if the bucket policy uses a condition like `aws:SourceAccount`, it can further restrict access to specific IAM roles in the partner account. A real-world scenario is a data lake where a company shares daily exports with a partner; the bucket policy grants the partner's account access, and the partner uses their own IAM roles to read the data via S3 APIs or the AWS CLI.
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.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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Design for New Solutions — study guide chapter
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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: Grant the partner's AWS account access via a bucket policy. — Option B is correct because a bucket policy can grant cross-account access to the partner's AWS account by specifying the partner's AWS account ID as the principal. This allows the partner's IAM users or roles to access the S3 bucket directly using their own credentials, without needing to share access keys or create users in the company's account. The bucket policy must explicitly allow the necessary actions (e.g., s3:GetObject) and the partner must also have an IAM policy that permits the same actions.
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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