- A
Use S3 Cross-Region Replication for application data and launch EC2 instances from AMIs copied to the secondary Region
Why wrong: S3 Cross-Region Replication is asynchronous and does not guarantee a 15-minute RPO. Additionally, launching EC2 instances from AMIs copied to the secondary Region involves manual steps, likely exceeding the 2-hour RTO.
- B
Take hourly snapshots of EBS volumes and copy them to another Region; use AWS CloudFormation to launch instances from the snapshots
Why wrong: Hourly EBS snapshots provide an RPO of at least 1 hour, which does not meet the 15-minute requirement. Copying snapshots to another Region and launching instances via CloudFormation adds recovery time, making the RTO difficult to achieve.
- C
Use Amazon Aurora Global Database for the database and deploy EC2 instances with an Application Load Balancer that has cross-Region load balancing enabled
Why wrong: While Amazon Aurora Global Database meets the RPO and RTO for the database tier, an Application Load Balancer cannot perform cross-Region load balancing. ALBs are Regional services and cannot route traffic to EC2 instances in a different Region, so this architecture does not achieve cross-Region failover for the application tier.
- D
Use Amazon DynamoDB global tables for the database and deploy EC2 instances in a warm standby configuration in another Region
Amazon DynamoDB global tables replicate data across Regions with an RPO of seconds, meeting the 15-minute RPO. A warm standby setup with EC2 instances in the secondary Region, combined with Route 53 DNS failover, can achieve the 2-hour RTO. This strategy is correct.
- E
Configure an Active-Passive failover using Route 53 with health checks within the same Region
Why wrong: An Active-Passive failover within the same Region does not provide disaster recovery across Regions. It protects only against instance-level failures, not Regional outages.
SAP-C02 Design for New Solutions Practice Question
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of design for new solutions. 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 is designing a disaster recovery (DR) strategy for a critical application. The application runs on EC2 instances in a single AWS Region. The company needs a Recovery Time Objective (RTO) of 2 hours and a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of 15 minutes. Which TWO strategies meet these requirements? (Choose TWO.)
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
Use Amazon DynamoDB global tables for the database and deploy EC2 instances in a warm standby configuration in another Region
Option D is correct because Amazon DynamoDB global tables provide automatic, asynchronous replication across multiple AWS Regions with an RPO of typically less than 1 second, easily meeting the 15-minute RPO. Combined with a warm standby configuration of EC2 instances in the secondary Region, you can quickly fail over within the 2-hour RTO using Route 53 or other DNS mechanisms. Option C is incorrect because Application Load Balancers (ALBs) are regional in scope and do not support cross-Region load balancing. ALB cannot directly route traffic to targets in another Region, so the described architecture would not achieve cross-Region failover as intended. Options A and B involve replication mechanisms (S3 CRR and EBS snapshots) that cannot guarantee the 15-minute RPO due to asynchronous delays and manual recovery steps. Option E describes an Active-Passive configuration within the same Region, which does not provide disaster recovery across Regions.
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 for application data and launch EC2 instances from AMIs copied to the secondary Region
Why it's wrong here
S3 Cross-Region Replication is asynchronous and does not guarantee a 15-minute RPO. Additionally, launching EC2 instances from AMIs copied to the secondary Region involves manual steps, likely exceeding the 2-hour RTO.
- ✗
Take hourly snapshots of EBS volumes and copy them to another Region; use AWS CloudFormation to launch instances from the snapshots
Why it's wrong here
Hourly EBS snapshots provide an RPO of at least 1 hour, which does not meet the 15-minute requirement. Copying snapshots to another Region and launching instances via CloudFormation adds recovery time, making the RTO difficult to achieve.
- ✗
Use Amazon Aurora Global Database for the database and deploy EC2 instances with an Application Load Balancer that has cross-Region load balancing enabled
Why it's wrong here
While Amazon Aurora Global Database meets the RPO and RTO for the database tier, an Application Load Balancer cannot perform cross-Region load balancing. ALBs are Regional services and cannot route traffic to EC2 instances in a different Region, so this architecture does not achieve cross-Region failover for the application tier.
- ✓
Use Amazon DynamoDB global tables for the database and deploy EC2 instances in a warm standby configuration in another Region
Why this is correct
Amazon DynamoDB global tables replicate data across Regions with an RPO of seconds, meeting the 15-minute RPO. A warm standby setup with EC2 instances in the secondary Region, combined with Route 53 DNS failover, can achieve the 2-hour RTO. This strategy is correct.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Configure an Active-Passive failover using Route 53 with health checks within the same Region
Why it's wrong here
An Active-Passive failover within the same Region does not provide disaster recovery across Regions. It protects only against instance-level failures, not Regional outages.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap is that candidates may assume Application Load Balancers can perform cross-Region load balancing, but ALBs are regional services and cannot forward traffic to targets in a different Region. For cross-Region failover, you must use DNS-based routing (e.g., Route 53) or a global load balancer like Global Accelerator. While managed databases like Aurora Global Database and DynamoDB global tables offer low RPO replication, the network tier must be designed correctly to achieve the required RTO and RPO.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Amazon Aurora Global Database uses storage-based replication with a typical replication lag of under 1 second from the primary to secondary Regions, leveraging the same cluster volume technology. For cross-Region ALB, you must configure a single Application Load Balancer with targets in multiple Regions using IP addresses or instance IDs, but note that cross-Region load balancing is not natively supported by ALB; instead, you would use Route 53 weighted records or Global Accelerator to distribute traffic, or deploy separate ALBs in each Region with Route 53 failover routing. DynamoDB global tables provide multi-Region, fully replicated tables with an RPO of typically under 1 second and an RTO of under 1 minute, making them ideal for meeting the 15-minute RPO, while warm standby EC2 instances in the secondary Region can be pre-configured with auto scaling to meet the 2-hour RTO.
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.
- →
Design for New Solutions — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
- →
Design for New Solutions practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
- →
All SAP-C02 questions
1,746 questions across all exam domains
- →
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional SAP-C02 study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
- →
SAP-C02 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Related SAP-C02 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity practice questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity.
Design for New Solutions practice questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to Design for New Solutions.
Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions practice questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions.
Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization practice questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization.
SAA-C03 VPC practice questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to SAA-C03 VPC.
SAA-C03 S3 lifecycle policy questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to SAA-C03 S3 lifecycle policy questions.
SAA-C03 RDS Multi-AZ questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to SAA-C03 RDS Multi-AZ questions.
SAA-C03 IAM policy practice questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to SAA-C03 IAM policy.
SAA-C03 Route 53 failover questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to SAA-C03 Route 53 failover questions.
SAA-C03 CloudFront practice questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to SAA-C03 CloudFront.
SAA-C03 NAT gateway questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to SAA-C03 NAT gateway questions.
SAA-C03 VPC endpoint questions
Practise SAP-C02 questions linked to SAA-C03 VPC endpoint questions.
Practice this exam
Start a free SAP-C02 practice session
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
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: Use Amazon DynamoDB global tables for the database and deploy EC2 instances in a warm standby configuration in another Region — Option D is correct because Amazon DynamoDB global tables provide automatic, asynchronous replication across multiple AWS Regions with an RPO of typically less than 1 second, easily meeting the 15-minute RPO. Combined with a warm standby configuration of EC2 instances in the secondary Region, you can quickly fail over within the 2-hour RTO using Route 53 or other DNS mechanisms. Option C is incorrect because Application Load Balancers (ALBs) are regional in scope and do not support cross-Region load balancing. ALB cannot directly route traffic to targets in another Region, so the described architecture would not achieve cross-Region failover as intended. Options A and B involve replication mechanisms (S3 CRR and EBS snapshots) that cannot guarantee the 15-minute RPO due to asynchronous delays and manual recovery steps. Option E describes an Active-Passive configuration within the same Region, which does not provide disaster recovery across Regions.
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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Keep practising
More SAP-C02 practice questions
- A company wants to automate the migration of on-premises servers to AWS. The migration plan includes discovery, assessme…
- A company is using AWS Organizations with hundreds of accounts. The central IT team needs to deploy a common set of AWS…
- A multinational company operates a multi-account AWS environment using AWS Organizations. The security team needs to enf…
- A company has a multi-account AWS environment with a centralized logging account. The security team needs to analyze VPC…
- A company has multiple AWS accounts and wants to centralize logging of all API calls. Which TWO services should be used…
- Match each AWS compute service to its use case.
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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.