Quick Answer
The answer is Standard Reserved Instances for a 1-year term. This pricing model delivers the greatest cost savings for a stateless web application running 24/7 for 12 months because Standard RIs offer a substantial discount—up to 40%—over On-Demand pricing for steady-state, predictable workloads. Unlike Convertible RIs, which provide flexibility at a lower discount, Standard RIs are optimized for constant usage without needing to change instance families or operating systems, making them the most cost-effective choice for this scenario. On the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate SOA-C02 exam, this question tests your ability to match pricing models to workload patterns; a common trap is selecting Convertible RIs for their flexibility, but remember that for fixed, continuous workloads, Standard RIs maximize reserved instances cost savings. Memory tip: “Standard for steady, Convertible for change.”
This SOA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of cost and performance optimization. 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 SysOps administrator needs to reduce costs for a fleet of EC2 instances that run a stateless web application. The instances are currently On-Demand. The workload runs 24/7 for the next 12 months. Which pricing model provides the greatest cost savings?
Use Dedicated Hosts.
Why wrong: More expensive, for compliance.
Use Spot Instances.
Why wrong: Spot can be interrupted, not suitable for 24/7 workload.
Purchase Standard Reserved Instances for a 1-year term.
Provides up to 40% discount for steady-state usage.
Purchase Convertible Reserved Instances for a 1-year term.
Why wrong: Offers flexibility but lower discount than Standard RIs.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Purchase Standard Reserved Instances for a 1-year term.
Standard Reserved Instances (RIs) for a 1-year term provide a significant discount (up to 40%) over On-Demand pricing for workloads that run continuously 24/7. Since this stateless web application runs constantly for the next 12 months, Standard RIs offer the greatest cost savings among the options, as they are designed for steady-state usage and do not require flexibility in instance family or operating system.
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.
Use Dedicated Hosts.
Why it's wrong here
More expensive, for compliance.
Use Spot Instances.
Why it's wrong here
Spot can be interrupted, not suitable for 24/7 workload.
Purchase Standard Reserved Instances for a 1-year term.
Why this is correct
Provides up to 40% discount for steady-state usage.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Purchase Convertible Reserved Instances for a 1-year term.
Why it's wrong here
Offers flexibility but lower discount than Standard RIs.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often choose Spot Instances (Option B) thinking they are always cheaper, but they overlook the requirement for 24/7 availability and the risk of interruption, which makes them unsuitable for a stateless web application that must run continuously without disruption.
Detailed technical explanation
Standard Reserved Instances provide a capacity reservation in a specific Availability Zone and a billing discount based on a fixed instance family, OS, and tenancy. The discount is applied at the billing level, not the instance level, and requires a 1-year or 3-year commitment. For a stateless web application that can tolerate instance replacement (e.g., via Auto Scaling), Standard RIs are ideal because they guarantee the discount without the interruption risk of Spot Instances, and the lack of need for attribute flexibility makes Convertible RIs unnecessary.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
What to study next
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Cost and Performance Optimization — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
Cost and Performance Optimization practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
All SOA-C02 questions
1,546 questions across all exam domains
AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate SOA-C02 study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
SOA-C02 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to Monitoring, Logging, and Remediation.
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to Reliability and Business Continuity.
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to Deployment, Provisioning, and Automation.
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to Security and Compliance.
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to Networking and Content Delivery.
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to Cost and Performance Optimization.
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to SOA-C02 fundamentals.
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to SOA-C02 scenario.
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to SOA-C02 troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Cost and Performance Optimization — This question tests Cost and Performance Optimization — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Purchase Standard Reserved Instances for a 1-year term. — Standard Reserved Instances (RIs) for a 1-year term provide a significant discount (up to 40%) over On-Demand pricing for workloads that run continuously 24/7. Since this stateless web application runs constantly for the next 12 months, Standard RIs offer the greatest cost savings among the options, as they are designed for steady-state usage and do not require flexibility in instance family or operating system.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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 →
Keep practising
Last reviewed: Jun 24, 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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.