The answer is to use Amazon EBS cross-region snapshot copy as one of three actions, alongside Amazon RDS Multi-AZ deployments and automated application recovery with AWS Elastic Beanstalk or custom scripts. This combination meets the aggressive 15-minute RTO and 1-minute RPO by leveraging synchronous replication for the database tier—RDS Multi-AZ provides near-zero RPO and sub-two-minute failover—while EBS cross-region snapshots ensure block-level data is recoverable within the RPO window across regions. On the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional SAP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your ability to distinguish between synchronous and asynchronous replication methods; a common trap is choosing AWS Backup or simple AMI backups, which cannot achieve a 1-minute RPO due to snapshot intervals. Remember the mnemonic “RDS for RPO, EBS for RTO”—the database handles the recovery point, while storage snapshots and automation handle the recovery time.
SAP-C02 Design for New Solutions Practice Question
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of design for new solutions. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 new disaster recovery (DR) strategy for its critical applications. The DR plan must achieve a recovery time objective (RTO) of 15 minutes and a recovery point objective (RPO) of 1 minute. The applications run on Amazon EC2 instances with Amazon EBS volumes. Which THREE actions should the company take to meet these requirements? (Choose three.)
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Configure Amazon RDS Multi-AZ deployments.
Option A is correct because Amazon RDS Multi-AZ deployments provide synchronous replication to a standby instance in a different Availability Zone, enabling automatic failover with an RTO typically under 1-2 minutes and an RPO of effectively zero, which meets the 15-minute RTO and 1-minute RPO requirements for the database tier.
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.
✓
Configure Amazon RDS Multi-AZ deployments.
Why this is correct
Multi-AZ provides automatic failover with RTO typically under 1 minute and RPO of seconds.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use a single Availability Zone for EC2 instances to simplify failover.
Why it's wrong here
Single-AZ increases risk and does not meet RTO/RPO.
✓
Implement a Pilot Light strategy by replicating data to a secondary region and launching resources on failover.
Why this is correct
Pilot Light can achieve low RTO/RPO with pre-replicated data and automated failover.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Store backups in Amazon S3 Glacier.
Why it's wrong here
Glacier retrieval times are minutes to hours, not meeting 15-minute RTO.
✓
Use Amazon EBS cross-region snapshot copy to replicate data.
Why this is correct
EBS snapshots can be copied cross-region and used to restore volumes quickly.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Pilot Light with Warm Standby or Multi-Site, and may incorrectly assume that using a single AZ or Glacier backups can meet aggressive RTO/RPO targets, when in fact they introduce unacceptable latency or single points of failure.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
For RDS Multi-AZ, the synchronous replication uses the database engine's native replication (e.g., MySQL semi-sync or PostgreSQL synchronous replication) to ensure zero data loss on failover. The EBS cross-region snapshot copy uses incremental snapshots, which only transfer changed blocks, reducing replication time and cost; however, achieving a 1-minute RPO requires very frequent snapshots (e.g., every minute), which can incur additional costs and may have a slight delay due to snapshot finalization. The Pilot Light pattern relies on pre-provisioned resources like a small EC2 instance or a standby database in the DR region, which can be scaled up on failover, but the RTO depends on the time to promote the replicated data and start full-scale instances.
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.
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.
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: Configure Amazon RDS Multi-AZ deployments. — Option A is correct because Amazon RDS Multi-AZ deployments provide synchronous replication to a standby instance in a different Availability Zone, enabling automatic failover with an RTO typically under 1-2 minutes and an RPO of effectively zero, which meets the 15-minute RTO and 1-minute RPO requirements for the database tier.
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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Question Discussion
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