← SOA-C02·Amazon Web Services

Question 283 of 1,546

Cost and Performance Optimization →mediumMultiple SelectObjective-mapped

Optimizing HPC Costs on AWS with Spot Instances and Shared Storage

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 company is running a high-performance computing (HPC) workload on EC2. The workload is time-sensitive and runs for 2 hours every night. The company wants to minimize costs. Which THREE options should they consider? (Choose THREE.)

Clue words in this question

Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.

Clue: "minimum / minimize"
Why it matters: Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.

A
Purchase Reserved Instances for the nightly run.
Why wrong: Reserved Instances are for steady-state, not short nightly runs.
B
Use an EFS or S3 as shared storage instead of EBS volumes.
Shared storage can reduce EBS costs.
C
Use smaller instance types and distribute the workload.
Smaller instances often have lower cost per compute unit.
D
Use Dedicated Instances for performance isolation.
Why wrong: Dedicated Instances are more expensive.
E
Use Spot Instances to take advantage of lower pricing.
Spot Instances offer significant discounts for interruptible workloads.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

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

✓

Use an EFS or S3 as shared storage instead of EBS volumes.

Options B, C, and E are correct. B is correct because using EFS or S3 as shared storage reduces costs compared to attaching individual EBS volumes to each instance. C is correct because using smaller instance types in parallel can be more cost-effective for HPC workloads that can be parallelized. E is correct because Spot Instances offer significant discounts for fault-tolerant workloads like HPC. Option A is incorrect because Reserved Instances require a 1-3 year commitment and would not be cost-effective for a 2-hour nightly job. Option D is incorrect because Dedicated Instances are more expensive and not necessary for this workload.

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.

✗
Purchase Reserved Instances for the nightly run.
Why it's wrong here
Reserved Instances are for steady-state, not short nightly runs.
✓
Use an EFS or S3 as shared storage instead of EBS volumes.
Why this is correct
Shared storage can reduce EBS costs.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Use smaller instance types and distribute the workload.
Why this is correct
Smaller instances often have lower cost per compute unit.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use Dedicated Instances for performance isolation.
Why it's wrong here
Dedicated Instances are more expensive.
✓
Use Spot Instances to take advantage of lower pricing.
Why this is correct
Spot Instances offer significant discounts for interruptible workloads.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.

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.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.

TExam Day Tips

Underline the problem statement mentally.
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 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.

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 SOA-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this SOA-C02 question test?

Cost and Performance Optimization — This question tests Cost and Performance Optimization — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Use an EFS or S3 as shared storage instead of EBS volumes. — Options B, C, and E are correct. B is correct because using EFS or S3 as shared storage reduces costs compared to attaching individual EBS volumes to each instance. C is correct because using smaller instance types in parallel can be more cost-effective for HPC workloads that can be parallelized. E is correct because Spot Instances offer significant discounts for fault-tolerant workloads like HPC. Option A is incorrect because Reserved Instances require a 1-3 year commitment and would not be cost-effective for a 2-hour nightly job. Option D is incorrect because Dedicated Instances are more expensive and not necessary for this workload.

What should I do if I get this SOA-C02 question wrong?

Are there clue words in this question I should notice?

Yes — watch for: "minimum / minimize". Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

About these practice questions

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Same concept, more angles

1 more ways this is tested on SOA-C02

These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.

Variation 1. A company runs a data processing pipeline on AWS. The pipeline consists of EC2 instances that process data from an S3 bucket and write results to another S3 bucket. The processing job runs every hour and takes approximately 45 minutes. The current setup uses On-Demand instances. The SysOps administrator wants to reduce costs because the monthly EC2 bill is $5,000. The application is fault-tolerant and can handle interruptions by reprocessing data from the last checkpoint. The administrator has tested Spot Instances and found that they are interrupted about 10% of the time. The company has a strict requirement that the job must complete within 60 minutes every hour. Which solution would reduce costs while ensuring the job completes on time?

hard

A.Purchase Reserved Instances for the expected capacity to get a discount.
B.Use a single larger On-Demand instance to complete the job faster.
✓ C.Use a Spot Fleet with a fallback to On-Demand if Spot capacity is not available.
D.Use Spot Instances only and increase the number of instances to compensate for interruptions.

Why C: Option C is correct because a Spot Fleet with a fallback to On-Demand ensures the job completes within the 60-minute window even if Spot Instances are interrupted, while reducing costs by using cheaper Spot Instances when available. Option A is wrong because Reserved Instances require a 1- or 3-year commitment and may not be cost-effective for a job that runs only 45 minutes per hour, leading to wasted capacity. Option B is wrong because using a single larger On-Demand instance would increase costs, not reduce them. Option D is wrong because using Spot Instances only, even with more instances, risks exceeding the 60-minute deadline due to the 10% interruption rate; the fallback to On-Demand is necessary to guarantee completion time.

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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.