← SOA-C02·Amazon Web Services

Question 491 of 1,546

Cost and Performance Optimization →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

Cost Optimization for Predictable Traffic — Using Scheduled Scaling

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 production web application on EC2 instances behind an ALB. The application experiences predictable traffic spikes during business hours. Which cost optimization strategy would be MOST effective?

A
Configure Scheduled Scaling to add instances before the spike and remove after.
Scheduled Scaling matches capacity to predictable patterns, reducing cost.
B
Use Spot Instances for the entire workload.
Why wrong: Spot Instances can be interrupted, not suitable for production.
C
Use larger instance types to handle the spikes without scaling.
Why wrong: Larger instances run continuously, increasing cost during off-peak.
D
Use On-Demand instances exclusively to handle the spikes.
Why wrong: On-Demand is flexible but does not optimize cost for predictable spikes.

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

✓

Configure Scheduled Scaling to add instances before the spike and remove after.

Option A is the most effective cost optimization strategy because Scheduled Scaling allows you to increase capacity predictably before traffic spikes and decrease afterward, ensuring you only pay for what you need. Option B is incorrect because Spot Instances can be interrupted and are not suitable for production workloads that require high availability. Option C is incorrect because using larger instances does not dynamically adjust to spikes and may lead to over-provisioning during low traffic. Option D is incorrect because On-Demand instances are more expensive than using scheduled scaling with a mix of Reserved Instances or Savings Plans to cover the baseline and scheduled scaling for the spikes.

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 Scheduled Scaling to add instances before the spike and remove after.
Why this is correct
Scheduled Scaling matches capacity to predictable patterns, reducing cost.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use Spot Instances for the entire workload.
Why it's wrong here
Spot Instances can be interrupted, not suitable for production.
✗
Use larger instance types to handle the spikes without scaling.
Why it's wrong here
Larger instances run continuously, increasing cost during off-peak.
✗
Use On-Demand instances exclusively to handle the spikes.
Why it's wrong here
On-Demand is flexible but does not optimize cost for predictable spikes.

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.

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: Configure Scheduled Scaling to add instances before the spike and remove after. — Option A is the most effective cost optimization strategy because Scheduled Scaling allows you to increase capacity predictably before traffic spikes and decrease afterward, ensuring you only pay for what you need. Option B is incorrect because Spot Instances can be interrupted and are not suitable for production workloads that require high availability. Option C is incorrect because using larger instances does not dynamically adjust to spikes and may lead to over-provisioning during low traffic. Option D is incorrect because On-Demand instances are more expensive than using scheduled scaling with a mix of Reserved Instances or Savings Plans to cover the baseline and scheduled scaling for the spikes.

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

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 →

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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 is running a web application on a fleet of EC2 instances behind an Application Load Balancer. The application experiences variable traffic patterns with predictable spikes every day at 2 PM. The company wants to optimize costs while maintaining performance. Which solution is MOST cost-effective?

medium

A.Use manual scaling by adjusting the desired capacity each day at 2 PM.
B.Purchase Reserved Instances for the entire fleet to reduce costs.
✓ C.Use scheduled scaling to add instances before the spike and remove them after.
D.Use dynamic scaling policies based on CPU utilization.

Why C: Scheduled scaling allows you to add capacity in advance of the predictable spike, ensuring performance during the spike and reducing costs by running only needed instances at other times. Dynamic scaling reacts to real-time metrics, which may cause a temporary performance lag. Manual scaling is not automated. Reserved Instances provide a discount but do not adjust capacity automatically.

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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.