The answer is manual scaling with health check replacement. This approach is correct because manual scaling allows you to set a desired capacity that remains fixed, while the Auto Scaling group’s health checks automatically detect and terminate any unhealthy instance, triggering a replacement to restore the count. On the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional SAP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding that dynamic or predictive policies adjust instance counts based on load, which violates the requirement for a fixed number; the trap is assuming you need a scaling policy like step or simple scaling, but those change the instance count, not maintain it. Remember, manual scaling is essentially a static target—think of it as a “set it and forget it” guardrail where health checks handle the cleanup. Memory tip: “Manual for the count, health for the bounce.”
SAP-C02 Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions Practice Question
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of continuous improvement for existing 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 runs a critical application on Amazon EC2 instances in an Auto Scaling group. The application needs to maintain a fixed number of instances and should automatically replace any unhealthy instance. Which scaling policy should be used?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Manual scaling with health check replacement
A manual scaling policy set to maintain a fixed number of instances combined with health checks ensures that unhealthy instances are replaced.
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.
✗
Scheduled scaling policy
Why it's wrong here
Scheduled scaling changes capacity at specific times, not based on health.
✗
Simple scaling policy
Why it's wrong here
Simple scaling policies adjust based on CloudWatch alarms, not health checks.
✗
Target tracking scaling policy
Why it's wrong here
Target tracking adjusts based on a metric, not a fixed count.
✓
Manual scaling with health check replacement
Why this is correct
Manual scaling sets the desired capacity and health checks replace unhealthy instances.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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
A cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
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: Manual scaling with health check replacement — A manual scaling policy set to maintain a fixed number of instances combined with health checks ensures that unhealthy instances are replaced.
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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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.
Question Discussion
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