- A
Use Amazon SQS to buffer the requests and set a Lambda reserved concurrency to limit the processing rate
SQS can buffer requests and Lambda reserved concurrency can limit concurrency, effectively throttling the rate.
- B
Increase the Lambda function timeout and retry on failure
Why wrong: Increasing timeout does not control the rate of API calls.
- C
Configure a Lambda function destination on failure to reprocess
Why wrong: This only handles failures, not rate control.
- D
Use Amazon SNS to fan out the notification to multiple Lambda functions
Why wrong: SNS does not provide rate limiting.
Question 1,586 of 1,746
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 designing a new serverless application using AWS Lambda. The function must process a file uploaded to S3 and then send a notification to an external API. The external API has a rate limit of 10 requests per second. Which approach should they use to handle throttling?
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 SQS to buffer the requests and set a Lambda reserved concurrency to limit the processing rate
Option A is correct because Amazon SQS acts as a durable buffer that decouples the S3 event from the Lambda invocation, allowing the function to poll messages at a controlled rate. By setting a Lambda reserved concurrency, you limit the number of concurrent executions, which directly caps the processing rate to stay within the external API's 10 requests per second limit. This combination ensures that the Lambda function does not exceed the API's throttling threshold while still processing all events reliably.
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 SQS to buffer the requests and set a Lambda reserved concurrency to limit the processing rate
Why this is correct
SQS can buffer requests and Lambda reserved concurrency can limit concurrency, effectively throttling the rate.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Increase the Lambda function timeout and retry on failure
Why it's wrong here
Increasing timeout does not control the rate of API calls.
- ✗
Configure a Lambda function destination on failure to reprocess
Why it's wrong here
This only handles failures, not rate control.
- ✗
Use Amazon SNS to fan out the notification to multiple Lambda functions
Why it's wrong here
SNS does not provide rate limiting.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often choose SNS fan-out (Option D) thinking it improves throughput, but they fail to recognize that it amplifies concurrency and worsens throttling, whereas SQS with reserved concurrency provides controlled, decoupled processing.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Lambda's reserved concurrency sets a hard limit on the number of concurrent executions for a function, which effectively caps the throughput when combined with a polling-based trigger like SQS. The SQS queue acts as a buffer, holding messages until the Lambda function can process them at the configured rate, and Lambda's built-in batch processing (up to 10 messages per batch) can be tuned to match the API's rate limit. In a real-world scenario, if the external API has a strict 10 requests per second limit, you would set reserved concurrency to 1 and use a batch size of 10 with a 1-second batch window to ensure exactly 10 requests per second.
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 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.
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 SQS to buffer the requests and set a Lambda reserved concurrency to limit the processing rate — Option A is correct because Amazon SQS acts as a durable buffer that decouples the S3 event from the Lambda invocation, allowing the function to poll messages at a controlled rate. By setting a Lambda reserved concurrency, you limit the number of concurrent executions, which directly caps the processing rate to stay within the external API's 10 requests per second limit. This combination ensures that the Lambda function does not exceed the API's throttling threshold while still processing all events reliably.
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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