- A
Amazon CloudFront
Why wrong: CloudFront is a CDN.
- B
Amazon Route 53
Why wrong: Route 53 is DNS.
- C
Auto Scaling groups
Auto Scaling can scale EC2 instances based on metrics.
- D
Elastic Load Balancing
Why wrong: ELB distributes traffic, does not scale instances.
Question 1,383 of 1,746
Auto Scaling EC2 Instances Based on CPU
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. They want to ensure that the web tier can scale automatically based on CPU utilization. Which AWS service should they 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
✓
Auto Scaling groups
Auto Scaling groups (Option C) are the correct service because they directly manage the automatic scaling of EC2 instances based on defined policies, such as a target CPU utilization threshold. When CPU utilization exceeds the threshold, the Auto Scaling group launches new instances to handle the load, and it terminates instances when utilization drops, ensuring the web tier scales automatically.
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.
- ✗
Amazon CloudFront
Why it's wrong here
CloudFront is a CDN.
- ✗
Amazon Route 53
Why it's wrong here
Route 53 is DNS.
- ✓
Auto Scaling groups
Why this is correct
Auto Scaling can scale EC2 instances based on metrics.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Elastic Load Balancing
Why it's wrong here
ELB distributes traffic, does not scale instances.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Elastic Load Balancing with automatic scaling, but ELB only distributes traffic and does not add or remove instances; the Auto Scaling group is the service that actually scales the compute capacity.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Auto Scaling groups use launch templates or configurations to define instance specifications, and scaling policies can be simple (e.g., step scaling) or use predictive scaling based on historical data. Under the hood, the Auto Scaling group integrates with Amazon CloudWatch alarms to trigger scaling actions when metrics like CPUUtilization cross thresholds, and it uses lifecycle hooks to perform custom actions before instances are launched or terminated. In a real-world scenario, a web application might use a target tracking scaling policy to maintain an average CPU utilization of 50%, automatically adjusting the number of instances to match demand.
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.
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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: Auto Scaling groups — Auto Scaling groups (Option C) are the correct service because they directly manage the automatic scaling of EC2 instances based on defined policies, such as a target CPU utilization threshold. When CPU utilization exceeds the threshold, the Auto Scaling group launches new instances to handle the load, and it terminates instances when utilization drops, ensuring the web tier scales automatically.
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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