The answer is to provision an Amazon MSK cluster with 3 brokers per Availability Zone across 3 AZs. This configuration ensures high availability by distributing replicas across multiple fault domains, allowing MSK to automatically handle broker failures and partition leadership elections without manual intervention. On the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional SAP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of managed versus self-managed Kafka overhead, with a common trap being to choose a self-managed option or a different service like Kinesis or SQS, which are not drop-in replacements for Kafka’s topic-based, high-throughput streaming. Remember the memory tip: “3 by 3 for HA Kafka” — three brokers per AZ across three AZs gives you automatic replication and failover, minimizing operational burden while maximizing resilience.
SAP-C02 Practice Question: Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of accelerate workload migration and modernization. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 migrating a large-scale Apache Kafka cluster to Amazon MSK. The cluster has 100 topics with high throughput. The team wants to minimize operational overhead and ensure high availability. Which configuration should be used?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "minimum / minimize"
Why it matters: Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Provision an Amazon MSK cluster with 3 brokers per AZ across 3 AZs.
Option A is correct because MSK automatically handles replication and failover for high availability with minimal overhead. Option B is wrong because self-managed Kafka increases overhead. Option C is wrong because Kinesis is a different service. Option D is wrong because SQS is not a Kafka replacement.
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.
✗
Use Amazon Kinesis Data Streams with enhanced fan-out.
Why it's wrong here
Kinesis is a different streaming service; requires application changes.
✗
Use Amazon SQS FIFO queues with message deduplication.
Why it's wrong here
SQS is not suitable for Kafka-style streaming with multiple consumers per partition.
✗
Deploy Apache Kafka on Amazon EC2 with Spot Instances and EBS volumes.
Why it's wrong here
Self-managed Kafka increases operational overhead; Spot Instances risk data loss.
✓
Provision an Amazon MSK cluster with 3 brokers per AZ across 3 AZs.
Why this is correct
MSK is a managed Kafka service; multi-AZ provides high availability.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
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 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.
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.
Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization — This question tests Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Provision an Amazon MSK cluster with 3 brokers per AZ across 3 AZs. — Option A is correct because MSK automatically handles replication and failover for high availability with minimal overhead. Option B is wrong because self-managed Kafka increases overhead. Option C is wrong because Kinesis is a different service. Option D is wrong because SQS is not a Kafka replacement.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "minimum / minimize". Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
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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