How to Prevent Route 53 from Directing Traffic to Unhealthy ALB Nodes
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of continuous improvement for existing 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.
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit.
ResourceRecordSets:
- Name: example.com.
Type: A
AliasTarget:
HostedZoneId: Z2FDTNDATAQYW2
DNSName: myloadbalancer-1234567890.us-west-2.elb.amazonaws.com.
EvaluateTargetHealth: true
Refer to the exhibit. A company configured an Amazon Route 53 alias record for a domain name pointing to an Application Load Balancer (ALB). Users report that occasionally they are directed to an unhealthy ALB node. Which change should the company make to improve availability?
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit.
ResourceRecordSets:
- Name: example.com.
Type: A
AliasTarget:
HostedZoneId: Z2FDTNDATAQYW2
DNSName: myloadbalancer-1234567890.us-west-2.elb.amazonaws.com.
EvaluateTargetHealth: true
A
Change the record type to CNAME.
Why wrong: CNAME does not support health checking.
B
Configure the ALB health check to mark unhealthy nodes.
Proper health checks ensure unhealthy nodes are not used.
C
Use weighted routing policy.
Why wrong: Weighted routing distributes traffic but does not check health.
D
Use multi-value answer routing.
Why wrong: Multi-value answer routing can return unhealthy IPs if not combined with health checks.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Configure the ALB health check to mark unhealthy nodes.
The issue is that the ALB health check is not properly configured to mark unhealthy nodes. Although the Route 53 alias record has EvaluateTargetHealth set to true, Route 53 relies on the ALB's health check status to determine which targets are healthy. If the ALB health check is misconfigured (e.g., incorrect path, interval, or thresholds), it may not correctly report unhealthy nodes, causing Route 53 to occasionally route traffic to unhealthy nodes. Therefore, configuring the ALB health check to accurately mark unhealthy nodes (option B) is the direct solution. Option A (CNAME) is unsuitable for apex domains and doesn't provide health checking. Option C (weighted routing) distributes traffic proportionally but doesn't address health. Option D (multi-value answer routing) is for non-alias records and doesn't improve health checking beyond what alias records with EvaluateTargetHealth already offer.
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.
✗
Change the record type to CNAME.
Why it's wrong here
CNAME does not support health checking.
✓
Configure the ALB health check to mark unhealthy nodes.
Why this is correct
Proper health checks ensure unhealthy nodes are not used.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use weighted routing policy.
Why it's wrong here
Weighted routing distributes traffic but does not check health.
✗
Use multi-value answer routing.
Why it's wrong here
Multi-value answer routing can return unhealthy IPs if not combined with health checks.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→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
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
Quick reference
Common DNS Record Types
Record
Purpose
Example
A
IPv4 address mapping
example.com → 93.184.216.34
AAAA
IPv6 address mapping
example.com → 2606:2800::1
CNAME
Alias to another hostname
www → example.com
MX
Mail server for domain
example.com → mail.example.com (priority 10)
TXT
Text data (SPF, DKIM, verification)
v=spf1 include:_spf.example.com ~all
NS
Authoritative name servers
example.com NS ns1.example.com
PTR
Reverse DNS (IP → hostname)
34.216.184.93.in-addr.arpa → example.com
SOA
Zone authority record
Primary NS, admin email, serial, TTL defaults
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which SAP-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions — This question tests Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Configure the ALB health check to mark unhealthy nodes. — The issue is that the ALB health check is not properly configured to mark unhealthy nodes. Although the Route 53 alias record has EvaluateTargetHealth set to true, Route 53 relies on the ALB's health check status to determine which targets are healthy. If the ALB health check is misconfigured (e.g., incorrect path, interval, or thresholds), it may not correctly report unhealthy nodes, causing Route 53 to occasionally route traffic to unhealthy nodes. Therefore, configuring the ALB health check to accurately mark unhealthy nodes (option B) is the direct solution. Option A (CNAME) is unsuitable for apex domains and doesn't provide health checking. Option C (weighted routing) distributes traffic proportionally but doesn't address health. Option D (multi-value answer routing) is for non-alias records and doesn't improve health checking beyond what alias records with EvaluateTargetHealth already offer.
What should I do if I get this SAP-C02 question wrong?
Identify which SAP-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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