Quick Answer
The correct resources are an Auto Scaling group and an Application Load Balancer. An Auto Scaling group ensures the application remains highly available by automatically maintaining a desired number of EC2 instances across multiple Availability Zones, replacing any that fail. The Application Load Balancer then distributes incoming traffic evenly across those healthy instances, preventing any single zone or instance from becoming a bottleneck. On the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate SOA-C02 exam, this question tests your understanding of the core building blocks for fault-tolerant architectures, often appearing in scenarios where you must distinguish between resources that provide compute resilience versus those for networking or storage. A common trap is selecting a NAT Gateway, which handles outbound internet access, not inbound traffic distribution or instance health. Remember the memory tip: “ASG keeps the fleet alive, ALB keeps the traffic balanced.”
This SOA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of deployment, provisioning, and automation. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 SysOps Administrator needs to automate the deployment of a three-tier web application on AWS. The application consists of a web tier, application tier, and database tier. The administrator wants to use AWS CloudFormation to provision the infrastructure. Which TWO resources should be included in the CloudFormation template to ensure the application is highly available across multiple Availability Zones?
Auto Scaling group
Auto Scaling group ensures instances are distributed across AZs.
NAT Gateway
Why wrong: NAT Gateway provides internet access to private subnets.
Amazon S3 bucket
Why wrong: S3 bucket is for object storage.
Amazon Route 53 hosted zone
Why wrong: Route 53 hosted zone is for DNS management.
Application Load Balancer
ALB distributes traffic across instances in multiple AZs.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Auto Scaling group
Option A and Option D are correct. An Auto Scaling group is used to maintain a desired number of instances across AZs, and an Application Load Balancer distributes traffic across those instances. Option B (NAT Gateway) is for outbound internet access, not high availability. Option C (S3 bucket) is for storage, not compute. Option E (Route 53 hosted zone) is for DNS, not directly for high availability of the application tiers.
Key principle: NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Auto Scaling group
Why this is correct
Auto Scaling group ensures instances are distributed across AZs.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
NAT Gateway
Amazon S3 bucket
Why it's wrong here
S3 bucket is for object storage.
Amazon Route 53 hosted zone
Why it's wrong here
Route 53 hosted zone is for DNS management.
Application Load Balancer
Why this is correct
ALB distributes traffic across instances in multiple AZs.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
Common exam traps
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Detailed technical explanation
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
Key takeaway
NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
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
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related SOA-C02 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
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FAQ
Deployment, Provisioning, and Automation — This question tests Deployment, Provisioning, and Automation — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
The correct answer is: Auto Scaling group — Option A and Option D are correct. An Auto Scaling group is used to maintain a desired number of instances across AZs, and an Application Load Balancer distributes traffic across those instances. Option B (NAT Gateway) is for outbound internet access, not high availability. Option C (S3 bucket) is for storage, not compute. Option E (Route 53 hosted zone) is for DNS, not directly for high availability of the application tiers.
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related SOA-C02 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
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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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