Quick Answer
The answer is to replicate data to another AWS region and implement regular backups to Amazon S3. This combination directly addresses the disaster recovery best practices of minimizing both data loss and recovery time because cross-region replication provides geographic redundancy against a full region failure, while S3 backups offer durable, versioned snapshots that protect against accidental deletion or corruption. On the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate SOA-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of the Recovery Point Objective (RPO) versus Recovery Time Objective (RTO) trade-offs—a common trap is assuming a single-region multi-AZ setup is sufficient, but it cannot survive a region-wide outage. Another frequent mistake is confusing backup frequency with RTO; remember that RTO is about how fast you recover, not how often you back up. Memory tip: think “two regions for resilience, S3 for insurance”—one protects location, the other protects data integrity.
This SOA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of reliability and business continuity. 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 designing a disaster recovery plan for its critical applications. The plan must minimize data loss and recovery time. Which TWO measures should the SysOps administrator implement?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "minimum / minimize"
Why it matters: Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
Perform regular backups to Amazon S3.
Backups provide data recovery.
Set a recovery time objective (RTO) of 24 hours.
Why wrong: RTO is a goal, not a measure.
Use manual procedures to restore from backups.
Why wrong: Manual recovery increases RTO.
Run all workloads in a single AWS region.
Why wrong: Single region is a single point of failure.
Replicate data to another AWS region.
Cross-region replication enables DR.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Perform regular backups to Amazon S3.
Options A and C are correct. Regular backups to S3 provide data durability, and multi-region replication ensures availability in another region. Option B is wrong because a single region does not protect against region failure. Option D is wrong because manual failover is slow. Option E is wrong because RTO is about time, not backup frequency.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Perform regular backups to Amazon S3.
Why this is correct
Backups provide data recovery.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Set a recovery time objective (RTO) of 24 hours.
Why it's wrong here
RTO is a goal, not a measure.
Use manual procedures to restore from backups.
Why it's wrong here
Manual recovery increases RTO.
Run all workloads in a single AWS region.
Why it's wrong here
Single region is a single point of failure.
Replicate data to another AWS region.
Why this is correct
Cross-region replication enables DR.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
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
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.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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
Identify which SOA-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.
Reliability and Business Continuity — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Reliability and Business Continuity — This question tests Reliability and Business Continuity — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Perform regular backups to Amazon S3. — Options A and C are correct. Regular backups to S3 provide data durability, and multi-region replication ensures availability in another region. Option B is wrong because a single region does not protect against region failure. Option D is wrong because manual failover is slow. Option E is wrong because RTO is about time, not backup frequency.
Identify which SOA-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.
Yes — watch for: "minimum / minimize". Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 20, 2026
This SOA-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 SOA-C02 exam.
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