- A
Deploy a second ECS cluster and ALB in the secondary region with no tasks. Use cross-Region replication for ElastiCache. Use Route 53 to fail over after scaling up tasks.
Why wrong: Scaling up tasks from zero will exceed RTO.
- B
Deploy a second ECS cluster and ALB in the secondary region with a scaled-down number of tasks. Use ElastiCache Global Datastore for Redis to replicate session data. Use Route 53 health checks to fail over.
Correct: Warm standby with Global Datastore meets RPO and RTO.
- C
Use a multi-region ECS service with Service Connect and Route 53 latency-based routing. Keep equal capacity in both regions.
Why wrong: Active-active is more expensive than needed for RTO 30 min.
- D
Use pilot light by replicating ECS task definitions and copying AMIs to the secondary region. Use ElastiCache snapshot and restore. Fail over with Route 53.
Why wrong: Snapshot restore RPO is too high; pilot light not best for stateless app.
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 multi-region disaster recovery solution for a stateless web application running on Amazon ECS Fargate. The application uses an Application Load Balancer and stores session data in Amazon ElastiCache for Redis. The company needs to achieve an RPO of 15 minutes and an RTO of 30 minutes. What is the MOST cost-effective design that meets these requirements?
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
Deploy a second ECS cluster and ALB in the secondary region with a scaled-down number of tasks. Use ElastiCache Global Datastore for Redis to replicate session data. Use Route 53 health checks to fail over.
Option B is correct because it uses ElastiCache Global Datastore for Redis, which provides cross-Region replication with sub-minute RPO, meeting the 15-minute RPO requirement. The scaled-down ECS tasks in the secondary region can be quickly scaled up to achieve the 30-minute RTO, and Route 53 health checks enable automated failover. This design minimizes cost by running only minimal capacity in the secondary region until failover occurs.
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.
- ✗
Deploy a second ECS cluster and ALB in the secondary region with no tasks. Use cross-Region replication for ElastiCache. Use Route 53 to fail over after scaling up tasks.
Why it's wrong here
Scaling up tasks from zero will exceed RTO.
- ✓
Deploy a second ECS cluster and ALB in the secondary region with a scaled-down number of tasks. Use ElastiCache Global Datastore for Redis to replicate session data. Use Route 53 health checks to fail over.
Why this is correct
Correct: Warm standby with Global Datastore meets RPO and RTO.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Use a multi-region ECS service with Service Connect and Route 53 latency-based routing. Keep equal capacity in both regions.
Why it's wrong here
Active-active is more expensive than needed for RTO 30 min.
- ✗
Use pilot light by replicating ECS task definitions and copying AMIs to the secondary region. Use ElastiCache snapshot and restore. Fail over with Route 53.
Why it's wrong here
Snapshot restore RPO is too high; pilot light not best for stateless app.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume cross-Region replication for ElastiCache requires manual snapshot/restore or custom replication, but ElastiCache Global Datastore provides managed, low-latency replication that meets strict RPOs, and running zero tasks in the secondary region (Option A) prevents failover from working because the ALB has no healthy targets.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
ElastiCache Global Datastore for Redis uses a primary cluster in one Region and a secondary read-only cluster in another Region, with asynchronous replication typically completing in under a second. On failover, the secondary cluster is promoted to primary, ensuring session data is available without data loss. Route 53 health checks monitor the primary ALB endpoint; when it becomes unhealthy, DNS failover routes traffic to the secondary ALB, and the scaled-down ECS tasks can be scaled up via Auto Scaling or a pre-configured scaling action to handle full load within minutes.
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 startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
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: Deploy a second ECS cluster and ALB in the secondary region with a scaled-down number of tasks. Use ElastiCache Global Datastore for Redis to replicate session data. Use Route 53 health checks to fail over. — Option B is correct because it uses ElastiCache Global Datastore for Redis, which provides cross-Region replication with sub-minute RPO, meeting the 15-minute RPO requirement. The scaled-down ECS tasks in the secondary region can be quickly scaled up to achieve the 30-minute RTO, and Route 53 health checks enable automated failover. This design minimizes cost by running only minimal capacity in the secondary region until failover occurs.
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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