- A
Attach the IAM role to the EC2 instance profile.
Attaching the role to the instance profile allows the instance to assume the role.
- B
Store the AWS access key and secret access key in a configuration file on the instance.
Why wrong: Storing credentials on instances is a security risk.
- C
Create an S3 bucket policy that allows access from the EC2 instance's IP address.
Why wrong: IP-based policies are not best practice and may not work if instances have elastic IPs.
- D
Configure the EC2 security group to allow outbound traffic to S3.
Why wrong: Security groups control network traffic but do not grant IAM permissions.
- E
Create an IAM role with a policy that grants the required S3 permissions.
IAM role provides temporary credentials via the instance profile.
Question 368 of 1,746
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 is designing a new application that will run on Amazon EC2 instances. The application needs to access an Amazon S3 bucket to read and write objects. The company wants to ensure that the EC2 instances can access the S3 bucket without storing AWS credentials on the instances. Which TWO steps should the company take?
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
✓
Attach the IAM role to the EC2 instance profile.
Option A is correct because an IAM role can be attached to an EC2 instance via an instance profile, allowing the instance to obtain temporary credentials from the AWS Security Token Service (STS) without storing any long-term credentials on the instance. This is the recommended secure method for granting EC2 instances access to AWS services like S3.
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.
- ✓
Attach the IAM role to the EC2 instance profile.
Why this is correct
Attaching the role to the instance profile allows the instance to assume the role.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Store the AWS access key and secret access key in a configuration file on the instance.
Why it's wrong here
Storing credentials on instances is a security risk.
- ✗
Create an S3 bucket policy that allows access from the EC2 instance's IP address.
Why it's wrong here
IP-based policies are not best practice and may not work if instances have elastic IPs.
- ✗
Configure the EC2 security group to allow outbound traffic to S3.
Why it's wrong here
Security groups control network traffic but do not grant IAM permissions.
- ✓
Create an IAM role with a policy that grants the required S3 permissions.
Why this is correct
IAM role provides temporary credentials via the instance profile.
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 network-level controls (security group outbound rules) with authentication/authorization mechanisms, thinking that allowing outbound traffic to S3 is sufficient to grant access, when in fact the instance still needs valid IAM credentials to authenticate requests to S3.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
When an IAM role is attached to an EC2 instance, the instance retrieves temporary security credentials from the instance metadata service (IMDS) at http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/iam/security-credentials/role-name. These credentials are automatically rotated by AWS and are signed using Signature Version 4, ensuring secure access to S3 without hardcoded keys. In real-world scenarios, this pattern is critical for auto-scaling groups where instances are ephemeral and manual credential management is impractical.
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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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: Attach the IAM role to the EC2 instance profile. — Option A is correct because an IAM role can be attached to an EC2 instance via an instance profile, allowing the instance to obtain temporary credentials from the AWS Security Token Service (STS) without storing any long-term credentials on the instance. This is the recommended secure method for granting EC2 instances access to AWS services like S3.
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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