- A
Amazon ECS with an Application Load Balancer and ECS Service Auto Scaling with a target tracking policy based on average CPU utilization.
ALB provides a single endpoint; target tracking auto scaling adjusts capacity based on CPU.
- B
Amazon ECS with a Network Load Balancer and step scaling policies.
Why wrong: NLB is not ideal for HTTP/HTTPS traffic; step scaling is not as responsive as target tracking.
- C
Amazon ECS with an Application Load Balancer and step scaling policies based on CPU utilization.
Why wrong: Step scaling is more complex and can cause oscillations; target tracking is simpler and recommended.
- D
Amazon ECS with an Application Load Balancer and manual scaling.
Why wrong: Manual scaling does not provide automatic scaling.
Question 528 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 deploying a containerized application on Amazon ECS. The application must be highly available and scale automatically based on CPU utilization. The application also needs to be accessible from the internet via a single endpoint. Which combination of services should the solutions architect 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
✓
Amazon ECS with an Application Load Balancer and ECS Service Auto Scaling with a target tracking policy based on average CPU utilization.
Option A is correct because an Application Load Balancer (ALB) provides a single internet-facing endpoint and supports HTTP/HTTPS traffic, which is typical for containerized applications. ECS Service Auto Scaling with a target tracking policy based on average CPU utilization allows the service to automatically adjust the desired count of tasks to maintain a specified CPU utilization target, ensuring high availability and elasticity.
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 ECS with an Application Load Balancer and ECS Service Auto Scaling with a target tracking policy based on average CPU utilization.
Why this is correct
ALB provides a single endpoint; target tracking auto scaling adjusts capacity based on CPU.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Amazon ECS with a Network Load Balancer and step scaling policies.
Why it's wrong here
NLB is not ideal for HTTP/HTTPS traffic; step scaling is not as responsive as target tracking.
- ✗
Amazon ECS with an Application Load Balancer and step scaling policies based on CPU utilization.
Why it's wrong here
Step scaling is more complex and can cause oscillations; target tracking is simpler and recommended.
- ✗
Amazon ECS with an Application Load Balancer and manual scaling.
Why it's wrong here
Manual scaling does not provide automatic scaling.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse step scaling with target tracking, assuming step scaling is required for CPU-based scaling, but target tracking is the simpler and more AWS-recommended approach for maintaining a specific utilization target.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
ECS Service Auto Scaling uses the Application Auto Scaling service, which integrates with CloudWatch alarms. A target tracking policy creates a CloudWatch alarm that monitors the average CPU utilization of the ECS service and scales out or in to keep the metric close to the target value (e.g., 50%). This approach avoids the complexity of defining step adjustments and thresholds, and it automatically handles scale-in and scale-out cooldowns based on the metric history.
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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
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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Design for New Solutions — study guide chapter
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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: Amazon ECS with an Application Load Balancer and ECS Service Auto Scaling with a target tracking policy based on average CPU utilization. — Option A is correct because an Application Load Balancer (ALB) provides a single internet-facing endpoint and supports HTTP/HTTPS traffic, which is typical for containerized applications. ECS Service Auto Scaling with a target tracking policy based on average CPU utilization allows the service to automatically adjust the desired count of tasks to maintain a specified CPU utilization target, ensuring high availability and elasticity.
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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