The correct answer is to use AWS Elastic Beanstalk for the application and Amazon RDS for MySQL as the database. This combination directly reduces operational overhead by automating capacity provisioning, load balancing, and health monitoring through Elastic Beanstalk, while RDS handles database administration tasks like backups, patching, and replication. For improving scalability, Elastic Beanstalk automatically scales the application tier based on demand, and RDS supports read replicas and vertical scaling without manual intervention. On the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional SAP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your ability to choose managed services that minimize undifferentiated heavy lifting during a monolithic migration, with a common trap being to select EC2 and RDS, which still requires manual EC2 management. Remember the memory tip: “Beanstalk for the stack, RDS for the stress”—meaning Elastic Beanstalk manages the application stack, and RDS removes database stress.
SAP-C02 Practice Question: Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of accelerate workload migration and modernization. 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 migrating a monolithic application to AWS. The application currently runs on a single on-premises server with a MySQL database. The company wants to reduce operational overhead and improve scalability. Which combination of AWS services should the company use?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use AWS Elastic Beanstalk to deploy the application and Amazon RDS for MySQL as the database.
Option D is correct because using Elastic Beanstalk for the application and RDS for MySQL reduces overhead and provides scalability. Option A is wrong because EC2 and RDS still require manual management of EC2. Option B is wrong because DynamoDB is NoSQL and not compatible with MySQL. Option C is wrong because Aurora Serverless is not MySQL-compatible without changes, and Fargate requires containerization.
Key principle: NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Containerize the application and run on Amazon ECS with AWS Fargate, and use Amazon Aurora Serverless for MySQL.
Why it's wrong here
Aurora Serverless may not be fully compatible and containerization adds complexity.
✗
Migrate the database to Amazon DynamoDB and host the application on AWS Lambda.
Why it's wrong here
Requires significant code changes.
✗
Host the application on Amazon EC2 and use Amazon RDS for MySQL.
Why it's wrong here
Still requires managing EC2 instances.
✓
Use AWS Elastic Beanstalk to deploy the application and Amazon RDS for MySQL as the database.
Why this is correct
Elastic Beanstalk manages the environment, RDS reduces DB management overhead.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
→Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
→Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
→Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
Key takeaway
NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
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. NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated. 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.
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related SAP-C02 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization — This question tests Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use AWS Elastic Beanstalk to deploy the application and Amazon RDS for MySQL as the database. — Option D is correct because using Elastic Beanstalk for the application and RDS for MySQL reduces overhead and provides scalability. Option A is wrong because EC2 and RDS still require manual management of EC2. Option B is wrong because DynamoDB is NoSQL and not compatible with MySQL. Option C is wrong because Aurora Serverless is not MySQL-compatible without changes, and Fargate requires containerization.
What should I do if I get this SAP-C02 question wrong?
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related SAP-C02 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
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Question Discussion
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