SAA-C03 practice questions 211–220

1. Question 211 · 1017 in bank

   A company is using a centralized AWS account to store log data in various Amazon S3 buckets. A solutions architect needs to ensure that the data is encrypted at rest before the data is uploaded to the S3 buckets. The data also must be encrypted in transit. Which solution meets these requirements?

   • AUse client-side encryption to encrypt the data that is being uploaded to the S3 buckets.
   • BUse server-side encryption to encrypt the data that is being uploaded to the S3 buckets.
   • CCreate bucket policies that require the use of server-side encryption with S3 managed encryption keys (SSE-S3) for S3 uploads.
   • DEnable the security option to encrypt the S3 buckets through the use of a default AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS) key.

   Show answer

   Answer: A

   Explanation

   No. HTTPS is not enough for encryption in transit when it comes to S3. https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/UsingClientSideEncryption.html "Client-side encryption is the act of encrypting your data locally to help ensure its security in transit and at rest. "

   Source: Adapted from community discussion — awsgeek75

   References

   • AWS documentation

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2. Question 212 · 1017 in bank

   A solutions architect observes that a nightly batch processing job is automatically scaled up for 1 hour before the desired Amazon EC2 capacity is reached. The peak capacity is the ‘same every night and the batch jobs always start at 1 AM. The solutions architect needs to find a cost-effective solution that will allow for the desired EC2 capacity to be reached quickly and allow the Auto Scaling group to scale down after the batch jobs are complete. What should the solutions architect do to meet these requirements?

   • AIncrease the minimum capacity for the Auto Scaling group.
   • BIncrease the maximum capacity for the Auto Scaling group.
   • CConfigure scheduled scaling to scale up to the desired compute level.
   • DChange the scaling policy to add more EC2 instances during each scaling operation.

   Show answer

   Answer: C

   Explanation

   Configuring scheduled scaling actions allows the Auto Scaling group to scale up to the desired capacity at a scheduled time (1 AM in this case) when the batch jobs start. This ensures the desired compute capacity is reached immediately. The Auto Scaling group can then scale down based on metrics after the batch jobs complete.

   Source: Adapted from community discussion — Guru4Cloud

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3. Question 213 · 1017 in bank

   A company serves a dynamic website from a fleet of Amazon EC2 instances behind an Application Load Balancer (ALB). The website needs to support multiple languages to serve customers around the world. The website’s architecture is running in the us-west-1 Region and is exhibiting high request latency for users that are located in other parts of the world. The website needs to serve requests quickly and efficiently regardless of a user’s location. However, the company does not want to recreate the existing architecture across multiple Regions. What should a solutions architect do to meet these requirements?

   • AReplace the existing architecture with a website that is served from an Amazon S3 bucket. Configure an Amazon CloudFront distribution with the S3 bucket as the origin. Set the cache behavior settings to cache based on the Accept-Language request header.
   • BConfigure an Amazon CloudFront distribution with the ALB as the origin. Set the cache behavior settings to cache based on the Accept-Language request header.
   • CCreate an Amazon API Gateway API that is integrated with the ALB. Configure the API to use the HTTP integration type. Set up an API Gateway stage to enable the API cache based on the Accept-Language request header.
   • DLaunch an EC2 instance in each additional Region and configure NGINX to act as a cache server for that Region. Put all the EC2 instances and the ALB behind an Amazon Route 53 record set with a geolocation routing policy.

   Show answer

   Answer: B

   Explanation

   Configuring caching based on the language of the viewer If you want CloudFront to cache different versions of your objects based on the language specified in the request, configure CloudFront to forward the Accept-Language header to your origin. https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonCloudFront/latest/DeveloperGuide/header-caching.html

   Source: Adapted from community discussion — Yechi

   References

   • AWS documentation

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4. Question 214 · 1017 in bank

   A rapidly growing ecommerce company is running its workloads in a single AWS Region. A solutions architect must create a disaster recovery (DR) strategy that includes a different AWS Region. The company wants its database to be up to date in the DR Region with the least possible latency. The remaining infrastructure in the DR Region needs to run at reduced capacity and must be able to scale up if necessary. Which solution will meet these requirements with the LOWEST recovery time objective (RTO)?

   • AUse an Amazon Aurora global database with a pilot light deployment.
   • BUse an Amazon Aurora global database with a warm standby deployment.
   • CUse an Amazon RDS Multi-AZ DB instance with a pilot light deployment.
   • DUse an Amazon RDS Multi-AZ DB instance with a warm standby deployment.

   Show answer

   Answer: B

   Explanation

   Note: The difference between pilot light and warm standby can sometimes be difficult to understand. Both include an environment in your DR Region with copies of your primary Region assets. The distinction is that pilot light cannot process requests without additional action taken first, whereas warm standby can handle traffic (at reduced capacity levels) immediately. The pilot light approach requires you to “turn on” servers, possibly deploy additional (non-core) infrastructure, and scale up, whereas warm standby only requires you to scale up (everything is already deployed and running). Use your RTO and RPO needs to help you choose between these approaches. https://docs.aws.amazon.com/whitepapers/latest/disaster-recovery-workloads-on-aws/disaster-recovery-options-in-the-cloud.html

   Source: Adapted from community discussion — Yechi

   References

   • AWS documentation

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5. Question 215 · 1017 in bank

   A company runs an application on Amazon EC2 instances. The company needs to implement a disaster recovery (DR) solution for the application. The DR solution needs to have a recovery time objective (RTO) of less than 4 hours. The DR solution also needs to use the fewest possible AWS resources during normal operations. Which solution will meet these requirements in the MOST operationally efficient way?

   • ACreate Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) to back up the EC2 instances. Copy the AMIs to a secondary AWS Region. Automate infrastructure deployment in the secondary Region by using AWS Lambda and custom scripts.
   • BCreate Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) to back up the EC2 instances. Copy the AMIs to a secondary AWS Region. Automate infrastructure deployment in the secondary Region by using AWS CloudFormation.
   • CLaunch EC2 instances in a secondary AWS Region. Keep the EC2 instances in the secondary Region active at all times.
   • DLaunch EC2 instances in a secondary Availability Zone. Keep the EC2 instances in the secondary Availability Zone active at all times.

   Show answer

   Answer: B

   Explanation

   Guys, sorry but I don't really have time to deepdive as my exam is soon. Based on chatGPT and my previous study the answer should be B "Create Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) to back up the EC2 instances. Copy the AMIs to a secondary AWS Region. Automate infrastructure deployment in the secondary Region by using AWS CloudFormation," would likely be the most suitable solution for the given requirements. This option allows for the creation of Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) to back up the EC2 instances, which can then be copied to a secondary AWS region to provide disaster recovery capabilities. The infrastructure deployment in the secondary region can be automated using AWS CloudFormation, which can help to reduce the amount of time and resources needed for deployment and management.

   Source: Adapted from community discussion — NolaHOla

   References

   • AWS documentation
   • AWS documentation

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6. Question 216 · 1017 in bank

   A company runs an internal browser-based application. The application runs on Amazon EC2 instances behind an Application Load Balancer. The instances run in an Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling group across multiple Availability Zones. The Auto Scaling group scales up to 20 instances during work hours, but scales down to 2 instances overnight. Staff are complaining that the application is very slow when the day begins, although it runs well by mid-morning. How should the scaling be changed to address the staff complaints and keep costs to a minimum?

   • AImplement a scheduled action that sets the desired capacity to 20 shortly before the office opens.
   • BImplement a step scaling action triggered at a lower CPU threshold, and decrease the cooldown period.
   • CImplement a target tracking action triggered at a lower CPU threshold, and decrease the cooldown period.
   • DImplement a scheduled action that sets the minimum and maximum capacity to 20 shortly before the office opens.

   Show answer

   Answer: C

   Explanation

   At first, I thought the answer is A. But it is C. It seems that there is no information in the question about CPU or Memory usage. So, we might think the answer is A. why? because what we need is to have the required (desired) number of instances. It already has scheduled scaling that works well in this scenario. Scale down after working hours and scale up in working hours. So, it just needs to adjust the desired number to start from 20 instances. But here is the point it shows A is WRONG!!! If it started with desired 20 instances, it will keep it for the whole day. What if the load is reduced? We do not need to keep the 20 instances always. That 20 is the MAXIMUM number we need, no the DESIRE number. So it is against COST that is the main objective of this question. So, the answer is C

   Source: Adapted from community discussion — asoli

   References

   • AWS documentation
   • AWS documentation
   • AWS documentation
   • AWS documentation

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7. Question 217 · 1017 in bank

   Select 2

   A company has a multi-tier application deployed on several Amazon EC2 instances in an Auto Scaling group. An Amazon RDS for Oracle instance is the application’ s data layer that uses Oracle-specific PL/SQL functions. Traffic to the application has been steadily increasing. This is causing the EC2 instances to become overloaded and the RDS instance to run out of storage. The Auto Scaling group does not have any scaling metrics and defines the minimum healthy instance count only. The company predicts that traffic will continue to increase at a steady but unpredictable rate before leveling off. What should a solutions architect do to ensure the system can automatically scale for the increased traffic? (Choose two.)

   • AConfigure storage Auto Scaling on the RDS for Oracle instance.
   • BMigrate the database to Amazon Aurora to use Auto Scaling storage.
   • CConfigure an alarm on the RDS for Oracle instance for low free storage space.
   • DConfigure the Auto Scaling group to use the average CPU as the scaling metric.
   • EConfigure the Auto Scaling group to use the average free memory as the scaling metric.

   Show answer

   Answer: AD

   Explanation

   A) Configure storage Auto Scaling on the RDS for Oracle instance. = Makes sense. With RDS Storage Auto Scaling, you simply set your desired maximum storage limit, and Auto Scaling takes care of the rest. B) Migrate the database to Amazon Aurora to use Auto Scaling storage. = Scenario specifies application's data layer uses Oracle-specific PL/SQL functions. This rules out migration to Aurora. C) Configure an alarm on the RDS for Oracle instance for low free storage space. = You could do this but what does it fix? Nothing. The CW notification isn't going to trigger anything. D) Configure the Auto Scaling group to use the average CPU as the scaling metric. = Makes sense. The CPU utilization is the precursor to the storage outage. When the ec2 instances are overloaded, the RDS instance storage hits its limits, too.

   Source: Adapted from community discussion — klayytech

   References

   • AWS documentation
   • AWS documentation

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8. Question 218 · 1017 in bank

   A company provides an online service for posting video content and transcoding it for use by any mobile platform. The application architecture uses Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS) Standard to collect and store the videos so that multiple Amazon EC2 Linux instances can access the video content for processing. As the popularity of the service has grown over time, the storage costs have become too expensive. Which storage solution is MOST cost-effective?

   • AUse AWS Storage Gateway for files to store and process the video content.
   • BUse AWS Storage Gateway for volumes to store and process the video content.
   • CUse Amazon EFS for storing the video content. Once processing is complete, transfer the files to Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS).
   • DUse Amazon S3 for storing the video content. Move the files temporarily over to an Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS) volume attached to the server for processing.

   Show answer

   Answer: D

   Explanation

   There is no on-prem/non Aws infrastructure to create a gateway. Also, EFS+EBS is more expensive that EFS and S3. So D is the best option.

   Source: Adapted from community discussion — kraken21

   References

   • AWS documentation

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9. Question 219 · 1017 in bank

   Select 2

   A company wants to create an application to store employee data in a hierarchical structured relationship. The company needs a minimum-latency response to high-traffic queries for the employee data and must protect any sensitive data. The company also needs to receive monthly email messages if any financial information is present in the employee data. Which combination of steps should a solutions architect take to meet these requirements? (Choose two.)

   • AUse Amazon Redshift to store the employee data in hierarchies. Unload the data to Amazon S3 every month.
   • BUse Amazon DynamoDB to store the employee data in hierarchies. Export the data to Amazon S3 every month.
   • CConfigure Amazon Macie for the AWS account. Integrate Macie with Amazon EventBridge to send monthly events to AWS Lambda.
   • DUse Amazon Athena to analyze the employee data in Amazon S3. Integrate Athena with Amazon QuickSight to publish analysis dashboards and share the dashboards with users.
   • EConfigure Amazon Macie for the AWS account. Integrate Macie with Amazon EventBridge to send monthly notifications through an Amazon Simple Notification Service (Amazon SNS) subscription.

   Show answer

   Answer: BE

   Explanation

   Data in hierarchies : Amazon DynamoDB B. Use Amazon DynamoDB to store the employee data in hierarchies. Export the data to Amazon S3 every month. Sensitive Info: Amazon Macie E. Configure Amazon Macie for the AWS account. Integrate Macie with Amazon EventBridge to send monthly notifications through an Amazon Simple Notification Service (Amazon SNS) subscription.

   Source: Adapted from community discussion — Bhawesh

   References

   • AWS documentation
   • AWS documentation

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10. Question 220 · 1017 in bank

    A company has an application that is backed by an Amazon DynamoDB table. The company’s compliance requirements specify that database backups must be taken every month, must be available for 6 months, and must be retained for 7 years. Which solution will meet these requirements?

    • ACreate an AWS Backup plan to back up the DynamoDB table on the first day of each month. Specify a lifecycle policy that transitions the backup to cold storage after 6 months. Set the retention period for each backup to 7 years.
    • BCreate a DynamoDB on-demand backup of the DynamoDB table on the first day of each month. Transition the backup to Amazon S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval after 6 months. Create an S3 Lifecycle policy to delete backups that are older than 7 years.
    • CUse the AWS SDK to develop a script that creates an on-demand backup of the DynamoDB table. Set up an Amazon EventBridge rule that runs the script on the first day of each month. Create a second script that will run on the second day of each month to transition DynamoDB backups that are older than 6 months to cold storage and to delete backups that are older than 7 years.
    • DUse the AWS CLI to create an on-demand backup of the DynamoDB table. Set up an Amazon EventBridge rule that runs the command on the first day of each month with a cron expression. Specify in the command to transition the backups to cold storage after 6 months and to delete the backups after 7 years.

    Show answer

    Answer: A

    Explanation

    Option B mentions using Amazon S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval, but DynamoDB doesn't natively support transitioning backups to Amazon S3 Glacier. Options C and D involve custom scripts and EventBridge rules, which add complexity and may not be as reliable or efficient as using AWS Backup for this purpose.

    Source: Adapted from community discussion — vijaykamal

    References

    • AWS documentation
    • AWS documentation

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SAA-C03 practice, question 211. 1017 questions available.