- A
Configure a RAID 1 mirror of the EBS volume across two Availability Zones.
Why wrong: RAID 1 provides redundancy but not point-in-time recovery; it also adds complexity.
- B
Enable automated backups on the EC2 instance.
Why wrong: EC2 does not have automated backups; only RDS has automated backups.
- C
Use AWS Backup to create backup plans for the EBS volume.
Why wrong: AWS Backup is a centralized service but does not inherently improve RTO; it still relies on snapshots.
- D
Schedule EBS snapshots every hour and keep them for 24 hours.
EBS snapshots provide point-in-time recovery and can be restored to a new volume quickly, meeting the RTO.
Question 72 of 1,546
SOA-C02 Reliability and Business Continuity Practice Question
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 runs a critical application on an EC2 instance that stores data on an EBS volume. The SysOps administrator needs to implement a backup strategy that provides the ability to restore the volume to a specific point in time within the last 24 hours, with a recovery time objective (RTO) of less than 15 minutes. Which solution meets these requirements?
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
✓
Schedule EBS snapshots every hour and keep them for 24 hours.
Option D is correct because scheduling EBS snapshots every hour and retaining them for 24 hours provides point-in-time recovery granularity within the last 24 hours. EBS snapshots are incremental, stored in Amazon S3, and can be used to create a new volume or restore an existing one; restoring from a snapshot typically takes only a few minutes, meeting the RTO of less than 15 minutes.
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.
- ✗
Configure a RAID 1 mirror of the EBS volume across two Availability Zones.
Why it's wrong here
RAID 1 provides redundancy but not point-in-time recovery; it also adds complexity.
- ✗
Enable automated backups on the EC2 instance.
Why it's wrong here
EC2 does not have automated backups; only RDS has automated backups.
- ✗
Use AWS Backup to create backup plans for the EBS volume.
Why it's wrong here
AWS Backup is a centralized service but does not inherently improve RTO; it still relies on snapshots.
- ✓
Schedule EBS snapshots every hour and keep them for 24 hours.
Why this is correct
EBS snapshots provide point-in-time recovery and can be restored to a new volume quickly, meeting the RTO.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may confuse AWS Backup (Option C) as a service that automatically provides hourly snapshots with 24-hour retention, but AWS Backup requires explicit configuration of a backup plan with the desired schedule and retention—it is not a default behavior, and the question tests whether you know the specific implementation (scheduled snapshots) rather than the service name.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
EBS snapshots are asynchronous, point-in-time copies stored in Amazon S3, and only changed blocks are saved after the initial snapshot, making them cost-effective. Restoring from a snapshot involves creating a new volume or using the 'revert to snapshot' feature (available for gp2/gp3 volumes), which can complete in minutes because it uses a copy-on-write mechanism. In a real-world scenario, if a volume becomes corrupted at 14:30, an hourly snapshot taken at 14:00 allows restoration to that exact state, meeting the RTO.
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.
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
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.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
- →
Reliability and Business Continuity — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
- →
Reliability and Business Continuity 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
Related SOA-C02 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Monitoring, Logging, and Remediation practice questions
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to Monitoring, Logging, and Remediation.
Reliability and Business Continuity practice questions
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to Reliability and Business Continuity.
Deployment, Provisioning, and Automation practice questions
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to Deployment, Provisioning, and Automation.
Security and Compliance practice questions
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to Security and Compliance.
Networking and Content Delivery practice questions
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to Networking and Content Delivery.
Cost and Performance Optimization practice questions
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to Cost and Performance Optimization.
SOA-C02 fundamentals practice questions
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to SOA-C02 fundamentals.
SOA-C02 scenario practice questions
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to SOA-C02 scenario.
SOA-C02 troubleshooting practice questions
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to SOA-C02 troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Start a free SOA-C02 practice session
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SOA-C02 question test?
Reliability and Business Continuity — This question tests Reliability and Business Continuity — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Schedule EBS snapshots every hour and keep them for 24 hours. — Option D is correct because scheduling EBS snapshots every hour and retaining them for 24 hours provides point-in-time recovery granularity within the last 24 hours. EBS snapshots are incremental, stored in Amazon S3, and can be used to create a new volume or restore an existing one; restoring from a snapshot typically takes only a few minutes, meeting the RTO of less than 15 minutes.
What should I do if I get this SOA-C02 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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 →
Keep practising
More SOA-C02 practice questions
- A company uses an Amazon DynamoDB table with on-demand capacity mode. The table handles a workload with a steady baselin…
- A company uses Amazon CloudWatch Logs to store application logs. The SysOps administrator needs to count the occurrences…
- A SysOps administrator needs to monitor the CPU utilization of an Amazon EC2 instance and send an alert when it exceeds…
- A SysOps administrator needs to monitor the CPU utilization of an Amazon EC2 instance fleet and send an alert when the a…
- A company's security policy requires that all Amazon S3 buckets must have server-side encryption enabled. The SysOps adm…
- A SysOps administrator uses AWS CloudFormation to deploy a stack that includes an Amazon EC2 instance. The administrator…
Last reviewed: Jul 4, 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.