- A
Use an instance store volume and replicate data across instances.
Why wrong: Instance store is ephemeral.
- B
Use an EBS volume with snapshots taken every hour.
Why wrong: EBS is tied to an instance and AZ; snapshots are for backup, not real-time availability.
- C
Move the data to an S3 bucket and access it via S3 API.
Why wrong: S3 is object storage, not a file system for applications.
- D
Migrate the data to Amazon EFS and mount it to all instances.
EFS is a durable, highly available file system.
Question 508 of 1,546
Using EFS for Shared Durable Storage
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. 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 production application on EC2 instances in an Auto Scaling group. The application stores data on an EBS volume. The SysOps administrator wants to ensure that the data is durable and available even if an EC2 instance fails. Which approach should the administrator take?
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
✓
Migrate the data to Amazon EFS and mount it to all instances.
Amazon EFS provides a fully managed, scalable, and shared file system that can be mounted concurrently to multiple EC2 instances across Availability Zones. By migrating the data to EFS and mounting it to all instances in the Auto Scaling group, the data remains durable and available even if an individual EC2 instance fails, because the file system persists independently of any single instance's lifecycle.
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.
- ✗
Use an instance store volume and replicate data across instances.
Why it's wrong here
Instance store is ephemeral.
- ✗
Use an EBS volume with snapshots taken every hour.
Why it's wrong here
EBS is tied to an instance and AZ; snapshots are for backup, not real-time availability.
- ✗
Move the data to an S3 bucket and access it via S3 API.
Why it's wrong here
S3 is object storage, not a file system for applications.
- ✓
Migrate the data to Amazon EFS and mount it to all instances.
Why this is correct
EFS is a durable, highly available file system.
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 often confuse EBS snapshots (which are backups, not high-availability solutions) with a truly shared, durable file system, leading them to choose Option B despite its inability to provide automatic failover and continuous availability.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Amazon EFS implements the NFSv4.1 protocol, allowing concurrent read/write access from multiple EC2 instances with strong consistency. Under the hood, EFS stores data redundantly across multiple Availability Zones within a region, providing 99.999999999% (11 nines) durability. In a real-world scenario, an Auto Scaling group can mount the same EFS file system at boot time using an /etc/fstab entry or user data script, ensuring that new instances launched after a failure automatically have access to the same persistent data without manual recovery steps.
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.
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
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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 — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Migrate the data to Amazon EFS and mount it to all instances. — Amazon EFS provides a fully managed, scalable, and shared file system that can be mounted concurrently to multiple EC2 instances across Availability Zones. By migrating the data to EFS and mounting it to all instances in the Auto Scaling group, the data remains durable and available even if an individual EC2 instance fails, because the file system persists independently of any single instance's lifecycle.
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.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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