- A
Configure the Auto Scaling group with at least one instance in each Availability Zone.
Correct. The Auto Scaling group must have instances in multiple AZs to survive an AZ failure. AZ rebalancing will maintain capacity.
- B
Enable cross-zone load balancing on the Application Load Balancer.
Why wrong: Incorrect. Cross-zone load balancing distributes traffic across all instances in all AZs, but it does not guarantee instance distribution. It is enabled by default for ALB.
- C
Use an Amazon Route 53 health check to route traffic away from a failed AZ.
Why wrong: Incorrect. Route 53 health checks with failover routing can redirect to another region, but within a region the ALB handles AZ failures by routing to healthy instances.
- D
Attach an Elastic IP address to each instance in the Auto Scaling group to ensure IP persistence.
Why wrong: Incorrect. Elastic IPs do not provide high availability; they provide static IPs. The ALB already provides a single endpoint.
SOA-C02 Reliability and Business Continuity Practice Question
This SOA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of reliability and business continuity. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. A key principle to apply: auto Scaling groups can span multiple Availability Zones.. 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 web application on Amazon EC2 instances in an Auto Scaling group that spans two Availability Zones. The application uses an Application Load Balancer (ALB) that is deployed across the same Availability Zones. The SysOps administrator wants to ensure the application remains available if an entire Availability Zone fails. Which configuration is essential for this high availability?
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 Auto Scaling group with at least one instance in each Availability Zone.
Option A is correct because for high availability across an Availability Zone (AZ) failure, the Auto Scaling group must have at least one healthy instance in each AZ. This ensures that if one AZ becomes unavailable, the ALB can route traffic to instances in the remaining AZ. Without this minimum distribution, a single AZ failure could leave the application with zero healthy targets if all instances were in the failed AZ.
Key principle: Auto Scaling groups can span multiple Availability Zones.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Configure the Auto Scaling group with at least one instance in each Availability Zone.
Why this is correct
Correct. The Auto Scaling group must have instances in multiple AZs to survive an AZ failure. AZ rebalancing will maintain capacity.
Related concept
Auto Scaling groups can span multiple Availability Zones.
- ✗
Enable cross-zone load balancing on the Application Load Balancer.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Cross-zone load balancing distributes traffic across all instances in all AZs, but it does not guarantee instance distribution. It is enabled by default for ALB.
- ✗
Use an Amazon Route 53 health check to route traffic away from a failed AZ.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Route 53 health checks with failover routing can redirect to another region, but within a region the ALB handles AZ failures by routing to healthy instances.
- ✗
Attach an Elastic IP address to each instance in the Auto Scaling group to ensure IP persistence.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Elastic IPs do not provide high availability; they provide static IPs. The ALB already provides a single endpoint.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse cross-zone load balancing (which balances traffic) with instance distribution across AZs (which ensures survival), leading them to select Option B instead of recognizing that without instances in each AZ, no load balancing can save the application.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, an Auto Scaling group distributes instances across AZs based on the subnets specified in its launch configuration. The ALB’s target group health checks monitor instance health, but if an entire AZ fails, the ALB automatically stops routing to that AZ’s targets only if there are healthy targets elsewhere. A common real-world scenario is when an Auto Scaling group is configured with a minimum of 1 and maximum of 1, but spans two AZs—during an AZ failure, the single instance might be in the failed AZ, causing total outage unless the group is configured to maintain at least one instance per AZ.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Auto Scaling groups can span multiple Availability Zones.
- Distributing instances across AZs protects against single AZ failures.
- Auto Scaling groups automatically replace unhealthy instances, including those in failed AZs.
- ALBs are AZ-aware and route traffic only to healthy instances in available AZs.
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
Auto Scaling groups can span multiple Availability Zones.
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.
Review auto Scaling groups can span multiple Availability Zones., then practise related SOA-C02 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
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Reliability and Business Continuity — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SOA-C02 question test?
Reliability and Business Continuity — This question tests Reliability and Business Continuity — Auto Scaling groups can span multiple Availability Zones..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Configure the Auto Scaling group with at least one instance in each Availability Zone. — Option A is correct because for high availability across an Availability Zone (AZ) failure, the Auto Scaling group must have at least one healthy instance in each AZ. This ensures that if one AZ becomes unavailable, the ALB can route traffic to instances in the remaining AZ. Without this minimum distribution, a single AZ failure could leave the application with zero healthy targets if all instances were in the failed AZ.
What should I do if I get this SOA-C02 question wrong?
Review auto Scaling groups can span multiple Availability Zones., then practise related SOA-C02 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Auto Scaling groups can span multiple Availability Zones.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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