- A
Replace the ALB with a Network Load Balancer (NLB) and enable cross-zone load balancing.
Why wrong: NLB does not natively support sticky sessions; also state is still local.
- B
Move session state to Amazon ElastiCache and configure the ALB to use sticky sessions.
Why wrong: Moving session state to ElastiCache requires code modification.
- C
Configure the ALB with sticky sessions (session affinity) and use a custom cookie.
Sticky sessions bind a user to a specific instance, preserving local state without code changes.
- D
Use an Auto Scaling group to add more instances and distribute load.
Why wrong: Auto Scaling does not solve the session state problem; new instances won't have the session.
Question 1,267 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 running a stateful web application on Amazon EC2 instances behind an Application Load Balancer (ALB). The application stores session data locally on the instance. The company wants to make the application highly available and fault-tolerant without rewriting the application code. What should the solutions architect do?
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
✓
Configure the ALB with sticky sessions (session affinity) and use a custom cookie.
Option C is correct because configuring the ALB with sticky sessions (session affinity) using a custom cookie allows the ALB to consistently route requests from a user's session to the same EC2 instance, preserving the locally stored session state without requiring any application code changes. This approach leverages the ALB's built-in session affinity feature, which is transparent to the application and ensures high availability by distributing traffic across healthy instances while maintaining session continuity.
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.
- ✗
Replace the ALB with a Network Load Balancer (NLB) and enable cross-zone load balancing.
Why it's wrong here
NLB does not natively support sticky sessions; also state is still local.
- ✗
Move session state to Amazon ElastiCache and configure the ALB to use sticky sessions.
Why it's wrong here
Moving session state to ElastiCache requires code modification.
- ✓
Configure the ALB with sticky sessions (session affinity) and use a custom cookie.
Why this is correct
Sticky sessions bind a user to a specific instance, preserving local state without code changes.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Use an Auto Scaling group to add more instances and distribute load.
Why it's wrong here
Auto Scaling does not solve the session state problem; new instances won't have the session.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume moving session state to an external store like ElastiCache is the only way to achieve fault tolerance, but the question explicitly prohibits rewriting application code, making sticky sessions the correct choice despite its limitations (e.g., uneven load distribution).
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Sticky sessions (session affinity) in ALB work by generating a cookie (AWSALB by default) that the ALB inserts into the response; the client sends this cookie back with subsequent requests, and the ALB uses it to route traffic to the same target. When using a custom cookie, the application sets its own cookie (e.g., 'JSESSIONID'), and the ALB is configured to use that cookie for affinity, which avoids the need to modify the application's session management logic. Under the hood, the ALB maintains a mapping of cookies to target groups and instances, ensuring consistent routing even during instance health checks or scaling events.
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.
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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: Configure the ALB with sticky sessions (session affinity) and use a custom cookie. — Option C is correct because configuring the ALB with sticky sessions (session affinity) using a custom cookie allows the ALB to consistently route requests from a user's session to the same EC2 instance, preserving the locally stored session state without requiring any application code changes. This approach leverages the ALB's built-in session affinity feature, which is transparent to the application and ensures high availability by distributing traffic across healthy instances while maintaining session continuity.
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
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