Courseiva
← SOA-C02
Full test
Question 323 of 1,546
Cost and Performance Optimization →easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

Quick Answer

The answer is to use Reserved Instances for baseline capacity and Spot Instances for burst capacity. This combination optimizes costs because Reserved Instances offer up to a 72% discount over On-Demand for steady-state workloads, ensuring the baseline traffic always runs reliably, while Spot Instances provide up to a 90% discount for the occasional spikes, accepting that they can be interrupted with a two-minute warning—acceptable for burst capacity that can failover gracefully. On the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate SOA-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of balancing cost optimization with fault tolerance for variable traffic patterns; a common trap is choosing On-Demand for both or using Spot for baseline, which risks interruption of critical workloads. Remember the memory tip: "Reserve the base, Spot the spike."

SOA-C02 Cost and Performance Optimization Practice Question

This SOA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of cost and performance optimization. Compare every option against the stated constraints before choosing — the best answer satisfies all requirements, not just the most obvious one. A key principle to apply: reserved Instances offer significant discounts for committed EC2 usage.. 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 web application on Amazon EC2 instances that have variable traffic patterns. The application experiences steady baseline traffic with occasional spikes. The SysOps administrator wants to optimize costs while ensuring performance during spikes. Which pricing model should be used for the baseline capacity and for the burst capacity?

Question 1easymultiple choice
Read the full NAT/PAT explanation →

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

✓

Reserved Instances for baseline, Spot Instances for burst capacity

Reserved Instances provide a significant discount (up to 72%) over On-Demand for steady-state workloads, making them ideal for baseline capacity. Spot Instances offer the lowest cost (up to 90% discount) but can be interrupted with a 2-minute warning, which is acceptable for burst capacity that can tolerate interruptions or be designed to failover gracefully. This combination minimizes cost while ensuring the baseline always runs and burst capacity can be added during spikes.

Key principle: Reserved Instances offer significant discounts for committed EC2 usage.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

  • ✓

    Reserved Instances for baseline, Spot Instances for burst capacity

    Why this is correct

    Reserved Instances reduce cost for predictable baseline usage. Spot Instances are cost-effective for bursts that can tolerate interruptions.

    Related concept

    Reserved Instances offer significant discounts for committed EC2 usage.

  • ✗

    On-Demand Instances for baseline, Reserved Instances for burst capacity

    Why it's wrong here

    Reserved Instances are for steady-state usage, not for variable bursts. On-Demand for baseline is more expensive than Reserved Instances.

  • ✗

    Spot Instances for baseline, On-Demand Instances for burst capacity

    Why it's wrong here

    Spot Instances are not suitable for baseline because they can be interrupted, potentially causing instability for the core workload.

  • ✗

    Dedicated Hosts for baseline, Spot Instances for burst capacity

    Why it's wrong here

    Dedicated Hosts are used for compliance or licensing and are more expensive. They are not the optimal choice for cost optimization.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates often assume On-Demand is the only safe choice for baseline or that Spot Instances are too risky for any production use, but the question specifically allows for burst capacity that can tolerate interruptions, making Spot the optimal cost-saving choice.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

Reserved Instances require a 1- or 3-year commitment and are billed upfront or monthly, providing a lower per-hour rate than On-Demand. Spot Instances use spare EC2 capacity and can be reclaimed by AWS with a 2-minute interruption notice, making them suitable for fault-tolerant, stateless, or batch workloads. In practice, a company might use an Auto Scaling group with a mixed instances policy that launches Reserved Instances for the minimum required capacity and Spot Instances for additional capacity, using lifecycle hooks to gracefully handle Spot interruptions.

KKey Concepts to Remember

  • Reserved Instances offer significant discounts for committed EC2 usage.
  • Spot Instances provide cost savings for fault-tolerant, flexible workloads.
  • Spot Instances can be interrupted by AWS with a two-minute warning.
  • On-Demand Instances are the most expensive but offer no commitment.

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

Reserved Instances offer significant discounts for committed EC2 usage.

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.

What to study next

Got this wrong? Here's your next step.

Review reserved Instances offer significant discounts for committed EC2 usage., then practise related SOA-C02 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.

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.

10 questions20 questions30 questions50 questionsTimed 30
SOA-C02 practice-test guide →Study guide →Browse all practice tests

FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this SOA-C02 question test?

Cost and Performance Optimization — This question tests Cost and Performance Optimization — Reserved Instances offer significant discounts for committed EC2 usage..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Reserved Instances for baseline, Spot Instances for burst capacity — Reserved Instances provide a significant discount (up to 72%) over On-Demand for steady-state workloads, making them ideal for baseline capacity. Spot Instances offer the lowest cost (up to 90% discount) but can be interrupted with a 2-minute warning, which is acceptable for burst capacity that can tolerate interruptions or be designed to failover gracefully. This combination minimizes cost while ensuring the baseline always runs and burst capacity can be added during spikes.

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

Review reserved Instances offer significant discounts for committed EC2 usage., then practise related SOA-C02 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Reserved Instances offer significant discounts for committed EC2 usage.

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 →

How Courseiva writes practice questions · Editorial policy

Keep practising

More SOA-C02 practice questions

Browse all SOA-C02 questions →

Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026

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.

Loading comments…

Sign in to join the discussion.

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.