SAP-C02 Amazon Web Services AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional Free Practice Exam Questions (2026 Updated)

They all mention using spot instances and EKS based on EC2. A spot instance is not appropriate for a production server and the company is developing new application designed for AWS Fargate, which means we must plan the future cost improvement including AWS Fargate. https://aws.amazon.com/savingsplans/compute-pricing/

There are three core requirements: reduce/manage active database connections, keep communication private without internet exposure, and scale to many consumer accounts over time.

To manage and pool database connections to an Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL DB instance, the AWS-managed service designed for this purpose is Amazon RDS Proxy. RDS Proxy maintains a pool of database connections and multiplexes application connections onto fewer database connections. This reduces connection overhead on the database, improves resiliency during failovers, and helps control the number of active connections that reach the DB instance.

Next, the connectivity must be private across accounts and scalable as more consumer accounts are added. AWS PrivateLink provides scalable, private connectivity between VPCs and services across accounts without requiring VPC peering, transitive routing, or exposing traffic to the public internet. With PrivateLink, the database account can publish an endpoint service backed by a Network Load Balancer, and consumer accounts create interface endpoints in their VPCs to connect privately to that service. This is operationally scalable because adding new consumer accounts does not require managing a growing mesh of VPC peering relationships or complex route propagation; each consumer adds an interface endpoint.

Option B is the only option that addresses connection management by introducing RDS Proxy and uses PrivateLink to provide private, cross-account, scalable connectivity. The proxy endpoint being in private subnets aligns with the requirement that traffic stays private.

Option A is incorrect because a NAT gateway in a public subnet is used for outbound internet access from private subnets. It is not needed for private cross-account database access and introduces unnecessary public subnet components. Also, NAT gateways do not manage database connections. Transit gateway can provide private connectivity, but it does not address connection pooling, and the NAT gateway component is not appropriate for the stated requirement of avoiding internet exposure.

Option C is incorrect because an Application Load Balancer is not used to proxy raw PostgreSQL database traffic. PostgreSQL uses TCP, and ALB is primarily for HTTP/HTTPS and higher-layer routing. Also, VPC peering to each consumer VPC does not scale well as the number of accounts grows, and it creates operational overhead to manage many peering connections and route tables. It also does not manage DB connections.

Option D is incorrect because it uses VPC peering and NAT gateway. NAT gateway is again not the correct mechanism for private database access and does not provide connection pooling. VPC peering per consumer is not scalable and increases operational overhead.

Therefore, using RDS Proxy to manage connections and AWS PrivateLink (via an NLB-backed endpoint service) to provide private, scalable cross-account access is the correct solution.

DynamoDB with TTL, cheaper for sustained throughput of small items + suited for fast retrievals. S3 cheaper for storage only, much higher costs with writes. RDS not designed for this use case.

B is correct. WhenPrivate DNSis enabled for an interface endpoint, AWS automatically updates the public service DNS names (e.g., s3.amazonaws.com) to resolve toprivate IPsinside the VPC. This ensures all traffic stays within the AWS network and complies with the private IP policy.

A is not necessary — VPC endpoints already route via local network.

C only affects security group rules, not DNS resolution.

D is unnecessary unless using custom DNS resolution systems.

A is correct becausedefault AWS-managed KMS keys cannot be shared across accounts. Therefore, the only way to enable cross-account backup is to restore each RDS instance using acustomer-managed key (CMK)andshare that keywith the central account.

Then, AWS Backup can performcross-account backup operationsusing AWS Organizations trusted access and backup policies.

Option B is incorrect due to theinability to share default keys.

Option C and D are technically invalid — RDS snapshots cannot be decrypted or re-encrypted manually.

The best solution is to create an FSx for Windows File Server file system in the DR Region and establish connectivity between the VPCs in both Regions by using VPC peering. This will ensure that the data does not travel across the public internet and meets the compliance requirements. By using AWS DataSync with interface VPC endpoints and AWS PrivateLink, the data can be copied securely and efficiently between the FSx for Windows File Server file systems in both Regions. This solution also provides the ability to fail over to the DR Region in case of a disaster. References: [Amazon FSx for Windows File Server User Guide], [AWS DataSync User Guide], [Amazon VPC User Guide]

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

C is correct because it converts the single–Availability Zone, single-EC2-instance ECS design into a managed, multi-AZ, self-healing architecture with minimal day-to-day operations. The current design has multiple single points of failure: one EC2 instance for ECS capacity and one Availability Zone for all components. Moving the ECS service to AWS Fargate removes the need to manage EC2 instances (capacity provisioning, patching, and scaling of the container instances) and allows the service to run tasks across multiple Availability Zones for higher availability. On the database side, modifying Aurora PostgreSQL to a Multi-AZ DB cluster (by adding a replica in another AZ) increases availability and supports faster recovery from an AZ failure with AWS-managed failover.

Why the other options are less suitable:

A: Making Aurora Multi-AZ improves database availability, but it does not address the compute layer’s biggest issue: ECS is on a single EC2 instance in one AZ with no auto scaling. RDS Proxy can help with connection management, but it does not fix the application’s single-AZ ECS single-instance availability risk.

B: Cross-Region read replicas and manual failover scripts increase operational burden. Also, it keeps ECS on EC2 (still requires instance management) and introduces a manual failover process, which is the opposite of “least operational overhead.”

D: Multi-Region active-active plus Aurora global database can deliver very high availability, but it adds significant complexity (multi-Region deployment, routing strategy, global database considerations, operational procedures). That is higher operational overhead than a straightforward multi-AZ design using managed services.

Using AWS IoT Core to receive the vehicle data will enable connecting the smart vehicles to the cloud using the MQTT protocol1. AWS IoT Core is a platform that enables you to connect devices to AWS Services and other devices, secure data and interactions, process and act upon device data, and enable applications to interact with devices even when they are offline2. Configuring rules to route data to an Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose delivery stream that stores the data in Amazon S3 will enable processing and storing the vehicle data in a scalable and reliable way3. Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose is a fully managed service that delivers real-time streaming data to destinations such as Amazon S3. Creating an Amazon Kinesis Data Analytics application that reads from the delivery stream to detect anomalies will enable analyzing the vehicle data using SQL queries or Apache Flink applications. Amazon Kinesis Data Analytics is a fully managed service that enables you to process and analyze streaming data using SQL or Java.

The company’s goal is to modernize the application while minimizing operational overhead. The current architecture relies heavily on self-managed EC2 instances for web serving, APIs, search, and relational data storage. This increases operational burden related to patching, scaling, availability, and troubleshooting.

Option B replaces self-managed components with fully managed AWS services that are purpose-built for each workload type. Hosting the static web application on Amazon S3 with Amazon CloudFront removes the need to manage web servers such as NGINX and provides global content delivery with built-in scalability and high availability. Migrating the search data to Amazon OpenSearch Service eliminates the need to manage an EC2-based OpenSearch node, providing a managed search service with built-in scaling, patching, and monitoring. Migrating PostgreSQL to Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL removes the operational overhead of managing database instances on EC2 and provides managed backups, high availability, and performance optimizations. Running APIs on AWS App Runner further reduces operational effort by abstracting infrastructure management, scaling, and deployment, allowing the team to focus on application code.

Option A still requires running and operating containerized databases and search engines, which is not recommended and does not significantly reduce operational overhead compared to EC2-based deployments. Databases and OpenSearch are better consumed as managed services rather than as containers.

Option C introduces Amazon EKS, which adds significant operational complexity. Even with managed node groups, Kubernetes requires cluster management, networking configuration, upgrades, and ongoing operational expertise. This contradicts the requirement for the least operational overhead.

Option D attempts to run databases and OpenSearch on AWS App Runner. App Runner is designed for stateless web services and APIs, not for stateful services such as databases or search engines. This architecture is not aligned with AWS best practices and would introduce reliability and operational challenges.

Therefore, using managed services such as Amazon CloudFront, Amazon S3, Amazon OpenSearch Service, Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL, and AWS App Runner provides the most modern architecture with the least operational overhead.

The key requirement is to provide access to a private Git repository while keeping the SageMaker notebook instances isolated from the internet. The environment is intentionally configured without internet access, and connectivity to AWS services is provided through VPC endpoints. Introducing a NAT gateway and routing to the internet would violate the requirement to keep the notebook instances isolated from the internet, and network ACLs cannot reliably restrict outbound access by URL or domain name because NACLs operate at the IP and port level and do not provide DNS-aware URL filtering.

SageMaker supports integrating Git repositories so that notebooks can pull code directly as part of the workflow. When using a private repository, credentials must be handled securely. Using AWS Secrets Manager to store and reference Git credentials allows authentication without embedding usernames and passwords in code or URLs and without granting broad network access. This approach meets the requirement with low operational overhead because it relies on managed SageMaker Git integration and managed secret storage rather than custom networking controls.

Option A uses SageMaker’s Git repository integration with the remote URL and stores credentials in AWS Secrets Manager. This allows notebooks to access the private repository in a controlled, auditable way while preserving the “no internet access” posture of the VPC design (because it does not require adding a NAT gateway or public routes).

Option B is not appropriate because embedding credentials (even just usernames) in URLs is not a secure or robust credential management practice. It also does not solve private authentication in a secure manner and can lead to credential leakage through logs or configuration.

Options C and D are not correct because they require adding a NAT gateway and routing to the internet. That directly conflicts with the requirement that SageMaker notebook instances remain isolated from the internet. Additionally, the proposed restriction mechanism is invalid: network ACLs cannot restrict traffic to a specific URL. They only allow/deny traffic based on IP addresses, ports, and protocols. A Git repository can resolve to multiple IPs, can change IPs, and can use CDNs, making NACL-based IP allowlisting brittle and operationally heavy.

Therefore, integrating the Git repository with SageMaker and using Secrets Manager for credentials is the best solution with the least operational overhead while maintaining internet isolation.

The company should create a Network Load Balancer (NLB) and associate it with one static IP address in multiple Availability Zones. The company should also create an ALB-type target group for the NLB and add the existing ALB. The company should add the NLB IP addresses to the firewall appliance and update the clients to connect to the NLB. This solution will allow traffic flow to AWS from the on-premises network by using static IP addresses that can be added to the firewall appliance’s allow list. The NLB will forward requests to the ALB, which will use path-based routing to forward requests to the target groups.

Using AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) with an Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL target and the AWS Schema Conversion Tool (SCT) ensures a rapid migration with minimal downtime.

DMS continuously replicates data, supporting near-zero downtime migration while keeping the source and target in sync.

SCT automatically converts the Oracle schema and stored procedures to PostgreSQL-compatible format, minimizing manual effort.

Aurora provides a managed, highly available database that scales across multiple AZs, ensuring high availability for the migrated workload.This method leverages AWS-managed services for database and migration, ensuring a secure, reliable, and low-overhead transition to the cloud.

https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/architecture/create-dynamic-contact-forms-for-s3-static-websites-using-aws-lambda-amazon-api-gateway-and-amazon-ses/

Auto Scaling Group with Application Load Balancer:

Moving the Tomcat server to an Auto Scaling group ensures that the number of instances adjusts dynamically based on the traffic load. An Application Load Balancer (ALB) distributes incoming traffic across multiple instances, improving the application's reliability and availability.

Migrate to Amazon Aurora with Replica:

Migrating the MySQL database to Amazon Aurora and adding an Aurora Replica enhances the database's scalability and availability. Aurora is optimized for performance, and replicas help distribute read traffic, reducing the load on the primary instance.

Additional Public Subnet:

Creating an additional public subnet in a different Availability Zone enhances fault tolerance. This ensures that the website remains accessible even if one Availability Zone experiences issues.

References

AWS Well-Architected Framework

Amazon Aurora Documentation

For a development environment that requires frequent resource recreation and connectivity to applications hosted in a shared services account, the most efficient solution involves using AWS Resource Access Manager (RAM) and the transit gateway in the shared services account. By turning on automatic acceptance for the transit gateway in the shared services account and sharing it with the development account through AWS RAM, the development team can easily recreate their connection as needed without manual intervention. This setup allows for scalable, flexible connectivity between accounts while minimizing operational overhead and ensuring consistent access to shared services.

AWS Documentation on AWS Resource Access Manager and Transit Gateway provides guidance on sharing network resources across AWS accounts and enabling automatic acceptance for transit gateway attachments. This approach is also supported by AWS best practices for multi-account strategies using AWS Organizations and network architecture.

A is correct because:

DynamoDB global tablesallow for multi-Region, active-active usage.

RDS MySQL read replicain another Region supports read workloads and can bepromotedduring disaster to act as a standalone DB.

B is incorrect: DAX is a cache, not a replication mechanism.

C is wrong because Multi-AZ doesn’t span Regions.

D is more manual and error-prone.

https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2017/11/announcing-support-for-inter-region-vpc-peering/

To connect VPC resources over a transit Virtual Interface (VIF) using a Direct Connect connection, the company should advertise the on-premises network prefixes over the transit VIF and advertise the VPC prefixes from the Direct Connect gateway to the on-premises network over the same VIF. This configuration ensures seamless connectivity between the on-premises infrastructure and the AWS VPCs through the transit gateway, facilitating efficient and secure communication across the network.

AWS Documentation on AWS Direct Connect and transit gateways provides detailed instructions on configuring transit VIFs and routing for Direct Connect connections. This setup is recommended in AWS best practices for establishing dedicated network connections between on-premises environments and AWS to achieve low-latency, high-throughput, and secure connectivity.

Option A is incorrect because creating a Direct Connect gateway in the central account and creating an association proposal by using the Direct Connect gateway and the account ID for every virtual private gateway does not enable active-passive failover between the regions. A Direct Connect gateway is a globally available resource that enables you to connect your AWS Direct Connect connection over a private virtual interface (VIF) to one or more VPCs in any AWS Region. A virtual private gateway is the VPN concentrator on the Amazon side of a VPN connection. You can associate a Direct Connect gateway with either a transit gateway or a virtual private gateway. However, a Direct Connect gateway does not provide any load balancing or failover capabilities by itself1

Option B is correct because creating a Direct Connect gateway and a transit gateway in the central network account and attaching the transit gateway to the Direct Connect gateway by using a transit VIF meets the requirement of enabling the corporate network to access the resources on AWS seamlessly and also to communicate with all the VPCs. A transit VIF is a type of private VIF that you can use to connect your AWS Direct Connect connection to a transit gateway or a Direct Connect gateway. A transit gateway is a network transit hub that you can use to interconnect your VPCs and on-premises networks. By using a transit VIF, you can route traffic between your on-premises network and multiple VPCs across different AWS accounts and Regions through a single connection23

Option C is incorrect because provisioning an internet gateway, attaching the internet gateway to subnets, and allowing internet traffic through the gateway does not meet the requirement of routing cloud resources to the internet through its on-premises data center. An internet gateway is a horizontally scaled, redundant, and highly available VPC component that allows communication between your VPC and the internet. An internet gateway serves two purposes: to provide a target in your VPC route tables for internet-routable traffic, and to perform network address translation (NAT) for instances that have been assigned public IPv4 addresses. By using an internet gateway, you are routing cloud resources directly to the internet, not through your on-premises data center.

Option D is correct because sharing the transit gateway with other accounts and attaching VPCs to the transit gateway meets the requirement of enabling the corporate network to access the resources on AWS seamlessly and also to communicate with all the VPCs. You can share your transit gateway with other AWS accounts within the same organization by using AWS Resource Access Manager (AWS RAM). This allows you to centrally manage connectivity from multiple accounts without having to create individual peering connections between VPCs or duplicate network appliances in each account. You can attach VPCs from different accounts and Regions to your shared transit gateway and enable routing between them.

Option E is incorrect because provisioning VPC peering as necessary does not meet the requirement of enabling the corporate network to access the resources on AWS seamlessly and also to communicate with all the VPCs. VPC peering is a networking connection between two VPCs that enables you to route traffic between them using private IPv4 addresses or IPv6 addresses. You can create a VPC peering connection between your own VPCs, or with a VPC in another AWS account within asingle Region. However, VPC peering does not allow you to route traffic from your on-premises network to your VPCs or between multiple Regions. You would need to create multiple VPN connections or Direct Connect connections for each VPC peering connection, which increases operational complexity and costs.

Option F is correct because provisioning only private subnets, opening the necessary route on the transit gateway and customer gateway to allow outbound internet traffic from AWS to flow through NAT services that run in the data center meets the requirement of routing cloud resources to the internet through its on-premises data center. A private subnet is a subnet that’s associated with a route table that has no route to an internet gateway. Instances in a private subnet can communicate with other instances in the same VPC but cannot access resources on the internet directly. To enable outbound internet access from instances in private subnets, you can use NAT devices such as NAT gateways or NAT instances that are deployed in public subnets. A public subnet is a subnet that’s associated with a route table that has a route to an internet gateway. Alternatively, you can use your on-premises data center as a NAT device by configuring routes on your transit gateway and customer gateway that direct outbound internet traffic from your private subnets through your VPN connection or Direct Connect connection. This way, you can route cloud resources to the internet through your on-premises data center instead of using an internet gateway.

Edit the Trust Policy:

Go to the IAM console in the parent account and locate the role that the EC2 instance needs to assume.

Edit the trust policy of the role to ensure that it correctly allows the sts

action for the role ARN in the child account.

Update the Role ARN:

Verify that the target role ARN specified in the trust policy matches the role ARN created by the CloudFormation stack in the child account.

If necessary, update the ARN to reflect the correct role in the child account.

Save and Test:

Save the updated trust policy and ensure there are no syntax errors.

Test the setup by attempting to assume the role from the EC2 instance in the child account. Verify that the instance can successfully assume the role and perform the required actions.

This ensures that the EC2 instance in the child account can assume the role in the parent account, resolving the permission issue.

References

AWS IAM Documentation on Trust Policies【51】.

Creating a quota request template in the us-east-1 Region of the management account ensures it applies to all newly provisioned accounts in the organization.

By specifying the required ml.p2.xlarge training job and endpoint usage quotas in ap-southeast-2, the accounts will automatically receive these higher quotas upon creation, supporting the student lab environments without additional manual quota requests.

This process integrates seamlessly with AWS Organizations for automated and standardized account provisioning.

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/access-control-block-public-access.html