The correct answer is to add a step scaling policy that scales out by 2 instances when CPU exceeds 80% for 1 minute. This is because a target tracking policy, while effective for steady-state loads, reacts too slowly to sudden CPU spikes—it adjusts capacity gradually based on a smoothed metric, allowing utilization to hit 100% and cause timeouts. A step scaling policy, by contrast, provides an aggressive, immediate scale-out action triggered by a specific threshold breach, preemptively adding capacity before performance degrades. On the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional SAP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of the difference between reactive and proactive scaling mechanisms; a common trap is assuming target tracking alone suffices for volatile workloads. Remember the memory tip: “Track the trend, step the spike”—use target tracking for baseline load and step scaling to catch sharp CPU bursts.
SAP-C02 Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions Practice Question
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of continuous improvement for existing solutions. 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 runs a critical application on EC2 instances behind an Application Load Balancer (ALB) in a production AWS account. Recently, the application has experienced intermittent timeouts. The operations team notices that the CPU utilization of the instances spikes to 100% for a few minutes during the timeouts. The Auto Scaling group is configured with a target tracking scaling policy based on average CPU utilization at 70%. What should a solutions architect do to improve the application's availability and reduce timeouts?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Add a step scaling policy to scale out by 2 instances when CPU exceeds 80% for 1 minute.
Option B is correct because adding a step scaling policy that triggers at 80% CPU for 1 minute provides a faster, more aggressive scale-out response than the existing target tracking policy alone. This helps preempt the CPU spikes that reach 100% and cause timeouts, improving application availability by adding capacity before performance degrades.
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.
✗
Increase the ALB idle timeout to 120 seconds.
Why it's wrong here
Increasing idle timeout does not address high CPU utilization.
✓
Add a step scaling policy to scale out by 2 instances when CPU exceeds 80% for 1 minute.
Why this is correct
Step scaling can add capacity quickly in response to high CPU, reducing timeouts.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Enable cross-zone load balancing on the ALB.
Why it's wrong here
Cross-zone load balancing distributes traffic evenly but does not add capacity.
✗
Reduce the target tracking scaling threshold to 50% average CPU.
Why it's wrong here
Lowering threshold may cause frequent scaling but does not guarantee faster response to spikes.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates assume reducing the target tracking threshold (Option D) is sufficient, but they overlook that target tracking cannot react quickly enough to sudden spikes, whereas a step scaling policy provides the immediate, aggressive scale-out needed to prevent 100% CPU utilization and timeouts.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Step scaling policies allow you to define specific CloudWatch alarm thresholds and actions (e.g., add 2 instances when CPU exceeds 80% for 1 minute), which can react faster than target tracking policies that aim to maintain a steady average. Under the hood, target tracking uses a proportional–integral–derivative (PID) controller algorithm that smooths scaling decisions, which may lag behind sudden spikes. In contrast, step scaling can immediately add capacity when a high threshold is breached, reducing the risk of timeouts during bursty workloads.
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
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
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.
Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions — This question tests Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Add a step scaling policy to scale out by 2 instances when CPU exceeds 80% for 1 minute. — Option B is correct because adding a step scaling policy that triggers at 80% CPU for 1 minute provides a faster, more aggressive scale-out response than the existing target tracking policy alone. This helps preempt the CPU spikes that reach 100% and cause timeouts, improving application availability by adding capacity before performance degrades.
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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Question Discussion
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