- A
Use Amazon EBS with a multi-attach enabled volume.
Why wrong: EBS multi-attach supports limited instances (typically up to 16) and is not suitable for hundreds of instances.
- B
Use Amazon EFS with provisioned throughput.
EFS provides a shared NFS file system that scales throughput and is accessible across AZs.
- C
Use Amazon S3 with S3 File Gateway to present as a file system.
Why wrong: This adds latency and complexity; S3 is object storage, not a POSIX file system.
- D
Use Amazon FSx for Windows File Server with a single file system.
Why wrong: FSx for Windows is designed for Windows-based workloads, not general Linux.
Question 1,369 of 1,746
SAP-C02 Design for New Solutions Practice Question
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of design for new solutions. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 legacy application to AWS. The application requires a shared file system that can be mounted by hundreds of EC2 instances across multiple Availability Zones. The file system must provide high throughput and low latency. Which storage solution meets these requirements?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use Amazon EFS with provisioned throughput.
Amazon EFS with provisioned throughput is the correct choice because it provides a fully managed, scalable, shared file system that can be mounted by hundreds of EC2 instances across multiple Availability Zones simultaneously. It uses the NFSv4.1 protocol, delivers high throughput and low latency, and allows you to provision throughput independently of storage size to meet performance requirements.
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 EBS with a multi-attach enabled volume.
Why it's wrong here
EBS multi-attach supports limited instances (typically up to 16) and is not suitable for hundreds of instances.
- ✓
Use Amazon EFS with provisioned throughput.
Why this is correct
EFS provides a shared NFS file system that scales throughput and is accessible across AZs.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Use Amazon S3 with S3 File Gateway to present as a file system.
Why it's wrong here
This adds latency and complexity; S3 is object storage, not a POSIX file system.
- ✗
Use Amazon FSx for Windows File Server with a single file system.
Why it's wrong here
FSx for Windows is designed for Windows-based workloads, not general Linux.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Amazon EBS multi-attach with a true shared file system, overlooking its single-AZ limitation and low instance count cap, while also underestimating EFS's ability to handle hundreds of concurrent NFS clients across multiple AZs with provisioned throughput.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Amazon EFS uses a distributed data storage architecture where file data is stored redundantly across multiple Availability Zones, and the NFSv4.1 client on EC2 instances communicates with the EFS mount target in each AZ. Provisioned throughput allows you to set a specific throughput rate (e.g., 1000 MiB/s) independent of storage size, which is critical for applications requiring consistent high performance. Under the hood, EFS uses a burst credit model for burstable throughput, but provisioned throughput bypasses this to guarantee performance, making it suitable for throughput-sensitive workloads like media processing or big data analytics.
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.
TExam Day Tips
- 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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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Design for New Solutions — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SAP-C02 question test?
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 Amazon EFS with provisioned throughput. — Amazon EFS with provisioned throughput is the correct choice because it provides a fully managed, scalable, shared file system that can be mounted by hundreds of EC2 instances across multiple Availability Zones simultaneously. It uses the NFSv4.1 protocol, delivers high throughput and low latency, and allows you to provision throughput independently of storage size to meet performance requirements.
What should I do if I get this SAP-C02 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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.
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