- A
Create a bucket policy in the logging account that grants the member accounts permission to write flow logs.
Bucket policy allows cross-account writes.
- B
Attach an SCP to the logging account that allows PutObject to the bucket.
Why wrong: SCPs are for principals, not for granting permissions to resources.
- C
Configure the bucket policy to include a condition that the principal is the VPC Flow Logs service.
This ensures only flow logs can write to the bucket.
- D
Use AWS Resource Access Manager (RAM) to share the bucket with member accounts.
Why wrong: RAM is for sharing resources like subnets, not S3 buckets for writing.
- E
Attach an SCP to the member accounts that allows them to create flow logs.
Why wrong: SCP can allow, but bucket policy is needed for cross-account writes.
Quick Answer
The answer is to configure the bucket policy to include a condition that the principal is the VPC Flow Logs service and to grant s3:PutObject permissions to the member accounts. This works because VPC Flow Logs are published by the service principal, not by the member account’s IAM user or role, so the bucket policy must explicitly allow the vpc-flow-logs.amazonaws.com service principal to write objects into the central S3 bucket. On the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional SAP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of cross-account service-to-service permissions, where the common trap is to assume you need Resource Access Manager (RAM) or SCPs—neither of which apply here, as SCPs cannot grant permissions and RAM is unnecessary when a bucket policy suffices. A useful memory tip: remember that VPC Flow Logs write as the service itself, so your bucket policy must welcome the service principal, not just the account.
SAP-C02 Practice Question: Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of design solutions for organizational complexity. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 using AWS Organizations with a centralized logging account. They want to collect VPC Flow Logs from all member accounts into a single S3 bucket in the logging account. Which TWO steps are required to achieve this?
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
Create a bucket policy in the logging account that grants the member accounts permission to write flow logs.
Options A and D are correct. Option A: VPC Flow Logs can be published to a central bucket using a bucket policy that allows the member accounts to write. Option D: The bucket policy must grant s3:PutObject permissions to the member accounts' VPC Flow Logs service. Option B is wrong because bucket policies cannot be applied via SCP. Option C is wrong because SCPs cannot be attached to resources. Option E is wrong because sharing the bucket via RAM is not needed; bucket policy suffices.
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.
- ✓
Create a bucket policy in the logging account that grants the member accounts permission to write flow logs.
Why this is correct
Bucket policy allows cross-account writes.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Attach an SCP to the logging account that allows PutObject to the bucket.
Why it's wrong here
SCPs are for principals, not for granting permissions to resources.
- ✓
Configure the bucket policy to include a condition that the principal is the VPC Flow Logs service.
Why this is correct
This ensures only flow logs can write to the bucket.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Use AWS Resource Access Manager (RAM) to share the bucket with member accounts.
Why it's wrong here
RAM is for sharing resources like subnets, not S3 buckets for writing.
- ✗
Attach an SCP to the member accounts that allows them to create flow logs.
Why it's wrong here
SCP can allow, but bucket policy is needed for cross-account writes.
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 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.
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.
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Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SAP-C02 question test?
Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity — This question tests Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create a bucket policy in the logging account that grants the member accounts permission to write flow logs. — Options A and D are correct. Option A: VPC Flow Logs can be published to a central bucket using a bucket policy that allows the member accounts to write. Option D: The bucket policy must grant s3:PutObject permissions to the member accounts' VPC Flow Logs service. Option B is wrong because bucket policies cannot be applied via SCP. Option C is wrong because SCPs cannot be attached to resources. Option E is wrong because sharing the bucket via RAM is not needed; bucket policy suffices.
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 →
Same concept, more angles
1 more ways this is tested on SAP-C02
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 has a multi-account AWS environment. The security team wants to centrally manage VPC flow logs for all accounts. They already have a centralized logging account. What is the MOST scalable solution?
hard- A.Deploy a third-party log collector agent on each EC2 instance.
- B.Configure AWS Transit Gateway to aggregate flow logs.
- ✓ C.Use a CloudFormation StackSet to deploy VPC Flow Logs to an S3 bucket in the central account using bucket policies.
- D.Enable VPC Flow Logs in each account and publish to a CloudWatch Logs group in the central account.
Why C: Using VPC Flow Logs with a delivery to a central S3 bucket via cross-account permissions is scalable. Option A is wrong because it requires per-VPC setup. Option C is wrong because it adds cost and complexity. Option D is wrong because it doesn't centralize.
Last reviewed: Jun 20, 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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