The correct answer is to implement DynamoDB auto scaling, Lambda reserved concurrency, and DynamoDB on-demand capacity. DynamoDB auto scaling dynamically adjusts read and write capacity based on actual traffic, while Lambda reserved concurrency guarantees that your function always has a set number of concurrent executions available, preventing throttling during traffic spikes. DynamoDB on-demand capacity mode eliminates the need for capacity planning by instantly scaling to handle unpredictable workloads without any throughput errors. On the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional SAP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your ability to combine stateless compute scaling with storage-level throughput management—a common trap is choosing DAX for write scaling (it only accelerates reads) or SQS for simplicity (which adds latency and complexity). Remember the mnemonic “RAD” for Reserved concurrency, Auto scaling, and On-Demand—these three form the core of serverless application scaling with Lambda and DynamoDB.
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 building a serverless application using AWS Lambda and Amazon DynamoDB. They need to ensure that the application can handle a sudden increase in traffic without losing any data or causing errors. Which THREE strategies should they implement?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use DynamoDB on-demand capacity mode.
Option A (DynamoDB auto scaling) handles throughput spikes. Option B (Lambda reserved concurrency) prevents throttling. Option D (DynamoDB on-demand capacity) handles unpredictable traffic. Option C (DAX) improves read performance but not write scaling. Option E (SQS) would decouple but adds complexity.
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 DynamoDB on-demand capacity mode.
Why this is correct
On-demand handles unpredictable traffic without capacity planning.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Decouple the application with Amazon SQS.
Why it's wrong here
SQS decouples but does not directly handle DynamoDB throttling or Lambda concurrency.
✓
Enable DynamoDB auto scaling.
Why this is correct
Auto scaling adjusts throughput based on traffic.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) for caching.
Why it's wrong here
DAX improves read performance but not write scaling or data loss prevention.
✓
Configure Lambda reserved concurrency.
Why this is correct
Reserved concurrency ensures the function has capacity.
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.
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: Use DynamoDB on-demand capacity mode. — Option A (DynamoDB auto scaling) handles throughput spikes. Option B (Lambda reserved concurrency) prevents throttling. Option D (DynamoDB on-demand capacity) handles unpredictable traffic. Option C (DAX) improves read performance but not write scaling. Option E (SQS) would decouple but adds complexity.
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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company is building a serverless application using AWS Lambda, Amazon API Gateway, and Amazon DynamoDB. They need to ensure that the application can handle sudden spikes in traffic without throttling. Which design should they implement?
hard
A.Use Lambda provisioned concurrency and an API Gateway usage plan.
✓ B.Enable DynamoDB auto scaling and configure Lambda function reserved concurrency.
C.Configure Lambda function reserved concurrency and an API Gateway cache.
D.Use DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) and Lambda function reserved concurrency.
Why B: Option A is correct because enabling DynamoDB auto scaling and Lambda concurrency limits allows handling spikes while preventing throttling. Option B (provisioned concurrency) helps with cold starts but not throttling. Option C (reserved concurrency) prevents other functions from using concurrency but doesn't handle spikes. Option D (DAX) is a caching layer, not for scaling.
Variation 2. A company is designing a new cloud-native application that uses Amazon API Gateway, AWS Lambda, and Amazon DynamoDB. The application handles user authentication using Amazon Cognito User Pools. During a stress test, the team notices that some requests are failing with HTTP 503 (Service Unavailable) errors. The CloudWatch logs show that Lambda functions are being throttled, and the DynamoDB table is experiencing high write throttling. The team needs to resolve these issues while maintaining low latency. Which solution is the MOST effective?
hard
✓ A.Set Lambda reserved concurrency to a value that covers peak load and enable DynamoDB auto scaling with a target utilization of 70%.
B.Use Amazon SQS to buffer requests to Lambda and configure a DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) cluster for caching.
C.Increase the DynamoDB write capacity units to the maximum expected peak and configure Lambda provisioned concurrency.
D.Replace AWS Lambda with Amazon ECS on Fargate and use an Application Auto Scaling target tracking policy.
Why A: Option A is correct because setting Lambda reserved concurrency ensures that the function always has capacity available to handle peak load without being throttled by the account-level concurrency limit, while DynamoDB auto scaling with a target utilization of 70% dynamically adjusts write capacity to match traffic patterns, preventing write throttling. This combination directly addresses both throttling issues without introducing additional latency from buffering or caching layers.
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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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