The latest AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate SAA-C03 certification actual real practice exam question and answer (Q&A) dumps are available free, which are helpful for you to pass the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate SAA-C03 exam and earn AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate SAA-C03 certification.
Question 1331
Exam Question
An online photo application lets users upload photos and perform image editing operations. The application offers two classes of service: free and paid. Photos submitted by paid users are processed before those submitted by free users. Photos are uploaded to Amazon S3 and the job information is sent to Amazon SQS.
Which configuration should a solutions architect recommend?
A. Use one SQS FIFO queue. Assign a higher priority to the paid photos so they are processed first.
B. Use two SQS FIFO queues: one for paid and one for free. Set the free queue to use short polling and the paid queue to use long polling.
C. Use two SQS standard queues: one for paid and one for free. Configure Amazon EC2 instances to prioritize polling for the paid queue over the free queue.
D. Use one SQS standard queue. Set the visibility timeout of the paid photos to zero. Configure Amazon EC2 instances to prioritize visibility settings so paid photos are processed first.
Correct Answer
A. Use one SQS FIFO queue. Assign a higher priority to the paid photos so they are processed first.
Explanation
A solutions architect should recommend the following configuration:
Option A: Use one SQS FIFO queue. Assign a higher priority to the paid photos so they are processed first.
Here’s why option A is the best choice:
1. SQS FIFO queue: A FIFO (First-In-First-Out) queue ensures that the order of messages is preserved. In this scenario, it is important to process the photos of paid users before the photos of free users. By using a single FIFO queue, you can maintain the order of the messages.
2. Priority assignment: SQS FIFO queues allow you to assign a message group ID and a message deduplication ID. In this case, you can assign a higher priority to the paid photos by assigning a specific message group ID or using a different deduplication ID. This ensures that the paid photos are processed before the free photos, as they will have a higher priority within the queue.
Option B suggests using two SQS FIFO queues, one for paid and one for free users, with different polling configurations. While this approach separates the queues based on user types, it doesn’t provide a straightforward way to prioritize the processing of paid photos over free photos.
Option C suggests using two SQS standard queues, one for paid and one for free users, and configuring EC2 instances to prioritize polling. While EC2 instances can be configured to prioritize polling for the paid queue, using standard queues doesn’t guarantee the order of messages and may lead to processing delays for paid photos if the free queue has a high volume of messages.
Option D suggests using one SQS standard queue and manipulating visibility timeout and EC2 instance configurations. However, manipulating visibility timeout and EC2 instance settings for prioritization can result in complex and less reliable solutions, as the timing and resource allocation may not align perfectly with the desired prioritization.
Therefore, option A is the most suitable configuration for the given scenario. It utilizes a single SQS FIFO queue and assigns a higher priority to the paid photos, ensuring they are processed first while maintaining the order of messages within the queue.
Question 1332
Exam Question
A company wants to share forensic accounting data that is stored in an Amazon RDS DB instance with an external auditor. The auditor has its own AWS account and requires its own copy of the database.
How should the company securely share the database with the auditor?
A. Create a read replica of the database and configure IAM standard database authentication to grant the auditor access.
B. Copy a snapshot of the database to Amazon S3 and assign an IAM role to the auditor to grant access to the object in that bucket.
C. Export the database contents to text files, store the files in Amazon S3, and create a new IAM user for the auditor with access to that bucket.
D. Make an encrypted snapshot of the database, share the snapshot, and allow access to the AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS) encryption key.
Correct Answer
D. Make an encrypted snapshot of the database, share the snapshot, and allow access to the AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS) encryption key.
Explanation
To securely share the database with the external auditor, the company should recommend the following approach:
Option D: Make an encrypted snapshot of the database, share the snapshot, and allow access to the AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS) encryption key.
Here’s why option D is the best choice:
1. Encrypted snapshot: By creating an encrypted snapshot of the database, the company ensures that the data is protected at rest. Encryption adds an extra layer of security to the snapshot, preventing unauthorized access to the data.
2. Share the snapshot: The company can share the encrypted snapshot with the external auditor’s AWS account. This allows the auditor to access and restore the database from the snapshot, ensuring they have their own copy of the data.
3. Access to AWS KMS encryption key: To decrypt and access the encrypted snapshot, the auditor will need access to the AWS KMS encryption key used to encrypt the snapshot. The company can grant the necessary permissions to the auditor’s AWS account to allow access to the encryption key.
Option A suggests creating a read replica of the database and configuring IAM standard database authentication. While this would allow the auditor to access the data, it doesn’t provide a separate copy of the database, and there may be limitations on the level of access control that can be applied.
Option B suggests copying a snapshot of the database to Amazon S3 and assigning an IAM role to the auditor. While this approach provides a separate copy of the data, it requires additional steps for the auditor to restore the database from the snapshot and may not provide the same level of data consistency as a live database.
Option C suggests exporting the database contents to text files and storing them in Amazon S3. While this approach allows the auditor to access the data, it requires manual exporting and may not provide the same level of data integrity and consistency as a direct copy of the database.
Therefore, option D is the most suitable solution for securely sharing the database with the external auditor. It ensures the data is protected at rest through encryption, allows the auditor to have their own copy of the database through the shared snapshot, and provides controlled access to the encryption key for decryption.
Question 1333
Exam Question
A solutions architect is designing a solution that involves orchestrating a series of Amazon Elastic Container Service (Amazon ECS) task types running on Amazon EC2 instances that are part of an ECS cluster. The output and state data for all tasks needs to be stored. The amount of data output by each task is approximately 10 MB, and there could be hundreds of tasks running at a time. The system should be optimized for high-frequency reading and writing. As old outputs are archived and deleted, the storage size is not expected to exceed 1 TB.
Which storage solution should the solutions architect recommend?
A. An Amazon DynamoDB table accessible by all ECS cluster instances.
B. An Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS) with Provisioned Throughput mode.
C. An Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS) file system with Bursting Throughput mode.
D. An Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS) volume mounted to the ECS cluster instances.
Correct Answer
C. An Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS) file system with Bursting Throughput mode.
Explanation
For the given requirements, the recommended storage solution is:
Option C: An Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS) file system with Bursting Throughput mode.
Here’s why option C is the best choice:
1. High-frequency reading and writing: Amazon EFS is designed to provide scalable and shared access to files, making it suitable for high-frequency reading and writing workloads. It can handle concurrent access from multiple EC2 instances running tasks in the ECS cluster.
2. Bursting Throughput mode: Bursting Throughput mode in Amazon EFS allows the file system to automatically scale its throughput based on the demand. This mode is suitable for workloads with unpredictable or bursty access patterns, such as running hundreds of tasks simultaneously. It provides the necessary performance to handle the workload without requiring manual adjustments.
3. Scalable and shared storage: Amazon EFS provides a scalable and elastic file system that can grow or shrink in size as data is added or removed. It eliminates the need to manage storage capacity upfront and allows the storage to accommodate the expected data output size (10 MB per task) as well as potential growth up to 1 TB.
4. Shared access across instances: Amazon EFS allows multiple EC2 instances in the ECS cluster to access the file system concurrently. This ensures that all tasks running on different instances can read and write data to the shared storage.
Option A suggests using an Amazon DynamoDB table accessible by all ECS cluster instances. However, DynamoDB is a NoSQL database primarily optimized for key-value storage and fast retrieval based on primary keys. It may not be the most suitable choice for storing and accessing large file outputs.
Option B suggests using an Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS) with Provisioned Throughput mode. However, since the workload is described as having unpredictable or bursty access patterns, Bursting Throughput mode is a better fit as it provides automatic scaling without the need for manually provisioned throughput.
Option D suggests using an Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS) volume mounted to the ECS cluster instances. While EBS volumes provide block-level storage, they are limited to single-instance access and may not be the most efficient or scalable solution for a shared storage requirement across multiple EC2 instances in an ECS cluster.
Therefore, option C, using an Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS) file system with Bursting Throughput mode, is the most suitable storage solution for this scenario.
Question 1334
Exam Question
A solutions architect is designing a security solution for a company that wants to provide developers with individual AWS accounts through AWS Organizations, while also maintaining standard security controls. Because the individual developers will have AWS account root user-level access to their own accounts, the solutions architect wants to ensure that the mandatory AWS CloudTrail configuration that is applied to new developer accounts is not modified.
Which action meets these requirements?
A. Create an IAM policy that prohibits changes to CloudTrail, and attach it to the root user.
B. Create a new trail in CloudTrail from within the developer accounts with the organization trails option enabled.
C. Create a service control policy (SCP) that prohibits changes to CloudTrail, and attach it to the developer accounts.
D. Create a service-linked role for CloudTrail with a policy condition that allows changes only from an Amazon Resource Name (ARN) in the master account.
Correct Answer
C. Create a service control policy (SCP) that prohibits changes to CloudTrail, and attach it to the developer accounts.
Explanation
To meet the requirements of providing developers with individual AWS accounts through AWS Organizations while maintaining standard security controls and ensuring the mandatory AWS CloudTrail configuration is not modified, the recommended action is:
C. Create a service control policy (SCP) that prohibits changes to CloudTrail, and attach it to the developer accounts.
Here’s why option C is the best choice:
1. Service Control Policy (SCP): SCPs are used to set fine-grained permissions and access controls at the account level within an AWS Organization. By creating an SCP that explicitly prohibits changes to CloudTrail, you can enforce the desired security control across all developer accounts.
2. Restricting CloudTrail changes: By applying an SCP that denies permissions to modify CloudTrail, you can prevent individual developers from making changes to the CloudTrail configuration. This ensures that the mandatory CloudTrail settings are maintained and cannot be modified by developers with root user-level access.
Option A suggests creating an IAM policy and attaching it to the root user. While this would limit the root user’s ability to modify CloudTrail, it does not address the requirement of individual developer accounts having root user-level access. The question specifically mentions that developers will have AWS account root user-level access to their own accounts.
Option B suggests creating a new trail in CloudTrail from within the developer accounts with the organization trails option enabled. While this would help consolidate and centralize CloudTrail logs, it does not address the requirement of preventing modifications to the CloudTrail configuration.
Option D suggests creating a service-linked role for CloudTrail with a policy condition that allows changes only from an Amazon Resource Name (ARN) in the master account. While this may provide some level of control, it does not prevent developers with root user-level access from modifying the CloudTrail configuration. Additionally, it assumes the use of a master account and may not be applicable in all AWS Organizations setups.
Therefore, option C, creating a service control policy (SCP) that prohibits changes to CloudTrail and attaching it to the developer accounts, is the most suitable action to meet the requirements of providing individual developer accounts while maintaining standard security controls and ensuring the mandatory CloudTrail configuration is not modified.
Question 1335
Exam Question
An application running on an Amazon EC2 instance needs to access an Amazon DynamoDB table. Both the EC2 instance and the DynamoDB table are in the same AWS account. A solutions architect must configure the necessary permissions.
Which solution will allow least privilege access to the DynamoDB table from the EC2 instance?
A. Create an IAM role with the appropriate policy to allow access to the DynamoDB table. Create an instance profile to assign this IAM role to the EC2 instance.
B. Create an IAM role with the appropriate policy to allow access to the DynamoDB table. Add the EC2 instance to the trust relationship policy document to allow it to assume the role.
C. Create an IAM user with the appropriate policy to allow access to the DynamoDB table. Store the credentials in an Amazon S3 bucket and read them from within the application code directly.
D. Create an IAM user with the appropriate policy to allow access to the DynamoDB table. Ensure that the application stores the IAM credentials securely on local storage and uses them to make the DynamoDB calls.
Correct Answer
A. Create an IAM role with the appropriate policy to allow access to the DynamoDB table. Create an instance profile to assign this IAM role to the EC2 instance.
Explanation
The solution that allows least privilege access to the DynamoDB table from the EC2 instance is:
A. Create an IAM role with the appropriate policy to allow access to the DynamoDB table. Create an instance profile to assign this IAM role to the EC2 instance.
Here’s why option A is the best choice:
1. IAM Role: IAM roles provide temporary security credentials that can be assumed by AWS services such as EC2 instances. By creating an IAM role, you can grant the necessary permissions to access the DynamoDB table without the need for long-term credentials.
2. Instance Profile: An instance profile is a container for an IAM role that you can associate with an EC2 instance. By assigning the IAM role (created in step 1) to the EC2 instance through an instance profile, the EC2 instance will have the necessary permissions to access the DynamoDB table.
By using this approach, you can adhere to the principle of least privilege. The IAM role can be specifically configured to provide only the necessary permissions to access the DynamoDB table and nothing more. This helps minimize the potential impact of security breaches or accidental misconfigurations.
Option B suggests adding the EC2 instance to the trust relationship policy document of the IAM role. While this would technically work, it introduces unnecessary complexity and does not follow the best practice of separating the IAM role from the instance itself.
Option C suggests creating an IAM user and storing the credentials in an Amazon S3 bucket. This approach is not recommended because it involves storing long-term access keys, which pose a higher security risk compared to using temporary security credentials with IAM roles.
Option D suggests creating an IAM user and storing the credentials locally on the EC2 instance. This approach also involves using long-term access keys, which can be compromised if the EC2 instance is compromised. It is generally not recommended to store IAM credentials directly on the instance.
Therefore, option A, creating an IAM role with the appropriate policy and assigning it to the EC2 instance through an instance profile, is the most secure and least privilege access solution to allow access to the DynamoDB table from the EC2 instance.
Question 1336
Exam Question
A company is building a document storage application on AWS. The application runs on Amazon EC2 instances in multiple Availability Zones. The company requires the document store to be highly available. The documents need to be returned immediately when requested. The lead engineer has configured the application to use Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS) to store the documents, but is willing to consider other options to meet the availability requirement.
What should a solutions architect recommend?
A. Snapshot the EBS volumes regularly and build new volumes using those snapshots in additional Availability Zones.
B. Use Amazon EBS for the EC2 instance root volumes. Configure the application to build the document store on Amazon S3.
C. Use Amazon EBS for the EC2 instance root volumes. Configure the application to build the document store on Amazon S3 Glacier.
D. Use at least three Provisioned IOPS EBS volumes for EC2 instances. Mount the volumes to the EC2 instances in a RAID 5 configuration.
Correct Answer
B. Use Amazon EBS for the EC2 instance root volumes. Configure the application to build the document store on Amazon S3.
Explanation
To meet the high availability and immediate retrieval requirements for the document storage application, a solutions architect should recommend the following option:
B. Use Amazon EBS for the EC2 instance root volumes. Configure the application to build the document store on Amazon S3.
Here’s why option B is the best choice:
1. Amazon EBS for EC2 instance root volumes: By using Amazon EBS for the EC2 instance root volumes, the application can benefit from the durability and availability of EBS. This ensures that the instances running the application have a reliable storage foundation.
2. Configure the application to build the document store on Amazon S3: Instead of relying solely on Amazon EBS for document storage, using Amazon S3 as the document store provides several advantages. Amazon S3 is designed for high durability and availability, offering 11 nines of durability and built-in redundancy across multiple Availability Zones. It also provides immediate access to the documents when requested, allowing for fast retrieval.
By leveraging the combination of Amazon EBS for the EC2 instance root volumes and Amazon S3 for the document store, the application can achieve both high availability and immediate retrieval of documents. The documents can be stored in Amazon S3, which is highly durable and accessible across multiple Availability Zones. The EC2 instances can utilize Amazon EBS for their root volumes, ensuring the reliability and availability of the underlying infrastructure.
Option A, snapshotting EBS volumes and building new volumes using those snapshots in additional Availability Zones, may provide some level of availability, but it doesn’t address the immediate retrieval requirement, as EBS snapshots may take time to restore and mount.
Options C and D are not optimal for a highly available and immediately retrievable document storage solution. Amazon S3 Glacier (option C) is designed for archival storage with longer retrieval times, which may not meet the requirement for immediate retrieval. Using RAID 5 with multiple Provisioned IOPS EBS volumes (option D) can improve performance but does not address the high availability requirement.
Therefore, option B is the recommended choice as it combines the strengths of Amazon EBS and Amazon S3 to meet the availability and retrieval needs of the document storage application.
Question 1337
Exam Question
A company’s near-real-time streaming application is running on AWS. As the data is ingested, a job runs on the data and takes 30 minutes to complete. The workload frequently experiences high latency due to large amounts of incoming data. A solutions architect needs to design a scalable and serverless solution to enhance performance.
Which combination of steps should the solutions architect take? (Choose two.)
A. Use Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose to ingest the data.
B. Use AWS Lambda with AWS Step Functions to process the data.
C. Use AWS Database Migration Service (AWS DMS) to ingest the data.
D. Use Amazon EC2 instances in an Auto Scaling group to process the data.
E. Use AWS Fargate with Amazon Elastic Container Service (Amazon ECS) to process the data.
Correct Answer
A. Use Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose to ingest the data.
B. Use AWS Lambda with AWS Step Functions to process the data.
Explanation
To enhance the performance of the near-real-time streaming application and address the high latency issue, the solutions architect should take the following steps:
A. Use Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose to ingest the data: Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose is a fully managed service that can efficiently ingest and deliver streaming data to various destinations. By using Kinesis Data Firehose for data ingestion, the architect can benefit from its scalability and optimized performance, ensuring that incoming data is efficiently handled.
B. Use AWS Lambda with AWS Step Functions to process the data: AWS Lambda is a serverless compute service that can process data in a scalable and event-driven manner. By combining Lambda with AWS Step Functions, the architect can create a serverless workflow to process the data ingested through Kinesis Data Firehose. This allows for parallel processing and scalability, reducing the processing time and improving performance.
Options C, D, and E are not the optimal choices for enhancing performance in this scenario:
C. Use AWS Database Migration Service (AWS DMS) to ingest the data: AWS DMS is primarily used for database migration and replication tasks, rather than near-real-time data ingestion and processing. It may not provide the necessary capabilities and performance required for this workload.
D. Use Amazon EC2 instances in an Auto Scaling group to process the data: Utilizing EC2 instances in an Auto Scaling group introduces the need for managing and scaling infrastructure manually. It does not align with the serverless requirement and may not provide the desired performance improvements.
E. Use AWS Fargate with Amazon Elastic Container Service (Amazon ECS) to process the data: While Fargate with ECS provides containerized compute resources, it adds complexity and requires managing the underlying infrastructure. It may not offer the same scalability and cost-efficiency benefits as a fully serverless approach using Lambda and Step Functions.
Therefore, the recommended combination of steps to enhance performance and address the high latency issue is to use Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose for data ingestion and AWS Lambda with AWS Step Functions for data processing. This serverless approach enables scalability, parallel processing, and optimized performance for the near-real-time streaming application.
Question 1338
Exam Question
A company is developing a mobile game that streams score updates to a backend processor and then posts results on a leaderboard. A solutions architect needs to design a solution that can handle large traffic spikes, process the mobile game updates in order of receipt, and store the processed updates in a highly available database. The company also wants to minimize the management overhead required to maintain the solution.
What should the solutions architect do to meet these requirements?
A. Push score updates to Amazon Kinesis Data Streams. Process the updates in Kinesis Data Streams with AWS Lambda. Store the processed updates in Amazon DynamoDB.
B. Push score updates to Amazon Kinesis Data Streams. Process the updates with a fleet of Amazon EC2 instances set up for Auto Scaling. Store the processed updates in Amazon Redshift.
C. Push score updates to an Amazon Simple Notification Service (Amazon SNS) topic. Subscribe an AWS Lambda function to the SNS topic to process the updates. Store the processed updates in a SQL database running on Amazon EC2.
D. Push score updates to an Amazon Simple Queue Service (Amazon SQS) queue. Use a fleet of Amazon EC2 instances with Auto Scaling to process the updates in the SQS queue. Store the processed updates in an Amazon RDS Multi-AZ DB instance.
Correct Answer
A. Push score updates to Amazon Kinesis Data Streams. Process the updates in Kinesis Data Streams with AWS Lambda. Store the processed updates in Amazon DynamoDB.
Explanation
To meet the requirements of handling large traffic spikes, processing updates in order of receipt, and storing processed updates in a highly available database while minimizing management overhead, the solutions architect should recommend the following approach:
A. Push score updates to Amazon Kinesis Data Streams. Process the updates in Kinesis Data Streams with AWS Lambda. Store the processed updates in Amazon DynamoDB.
Here’s why this solution is a good fit:
1. Amazon Kinesis Data Streams: Kinesis Data Streams is designed to handle large amounts of streaming data and can handle high traffic spikes efficiently. It ensures that the updates are received in the order they were pushed, meeting the requirement to process updates in order of receipt.
2. AWS Lambda: Lambda is a serverless compute service that can process the updates as they arrive in Kinesis Data Streams. It automatically scales to handle the incoming traffic spikes and eliminates the need to manage and provision infrastructure, minimizing management overhead.
3. Amazon DynamoDB: DynamoDB is a highly available and scalable NoSQL database offered by AWS. It can store the processed updates from Lambda, providing high availability and low latency access to the leaderboard data. DynamoDB automatically scales to handle the workload and ensures data durability.
By combining these services, the solution can handle traffic spikes, process updates in order, and store the processed updates in a highly available database without the need for manual management and scaling.
Question 1339
Exam Question
A company with facilities in North America, Europe, and Asia is designing a new distributed application to optimize its global supply chain and manufacturing process. The orders booked on one continent should be visible to all Regions in a second or less. The database should be able to support failover with a short Recovery Time Objective (RTO). The uptime of the application is important to ensure that manufacturing is not impacted.
What should a solutions architect recommend?
A. Use Amazon DynamoDB global tables.
B. Use Amazon Aurora Global Database.
C. Use Amazon RDS for MySQL with a cross-Region read replica.
D. Use Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL with a cross-Region read replica.
Correct Answer
B. Use Amazon Aurora Global Database.
Explanation
To meet the requirements of optimizing the global supply chain, ensuring fast visibility of orders across continents, supporting failover with a short Recovery Time Objective (RTO), and maintaining high application uptime, a solutions architect should recommend:
B. Use Amazon Aurora Global Database.
Here’s why this solution is a good fit:
1. Amazon Aurora Global Database: Aurora Global Database is designed specifically for global applications that require low-latency access to a replicated database across multiple regions. It provides fast replication of data across regions, enabling orders booked on one continent to be visible in all regions within a second or less.
2. Failover and RTO: Aurora Global Database supports automatic failover, allowing for quick recovery in the event of a primary database failure. It has a short Recovery Time Objective (RTO) as it automatically promotes a secondary instance as the new primary in case of failure. This helps ensure high availability and minimizes downtime for manufacturing.
3. Application Uptime: Aurora Global Database provides high availability and durability, minimizing the impact on manufacturing. It replicates data to multiple regions, ensuring that the application remains operational even if a specific region or database instance experiences an outage.
By using Amazon Aurora Global Database, the company can achieve fast visibility of orders across regions, support failover with a short RTO, and maintain high application uptime, optimizing its global supply chain and manufacturing process.
Question 1340
Exam Question
A company is deploying a multi-instance application within AWS that requires minimal latency between the instances.
What should a solutions architect recommend?
A. Use an Auto Scaling group with a cluster placement group.
B. Use an Auto Scaling group with a single Availability Zone in the same AWS Region.
C. Use an Auto Scaling group with multiple Availability Zones in the same AWS Region.
D. Use a Network Load Balancer with multiple Amazon EC2 Dedicated Hosts as the targets.
Correct Answer
A. Use an Auto Scaling group with a cluster placement group.
Explanation
To minimize latency between instances in a multi-instance application, a solutions architect should recommend:
A. Use an Auto Scaling group with a cluster placement group.
Here’s why this solution is a good fit:
1. Cluster Placement Group: A cluster placement group is a logical grouping of instances within a single Availability Zone. It provides low-latency networking between instances, as they are placed close to each other within the same rack. This arrangement reduces network hops and minimizes latency between instances.
2. Auto Scaling Group: Using an Auto Scaling group allows for the dynamic scaling of instances based on demand. It ensures that the desired number of instances is maintained within the cluster placement group, providing scalability and fault tolerance.
By combining the use of an Auto Scaling group with a cluster placement group, the company can achieve minimal latency between instances in their multi-instance application. This setup ensures that instances are located in close proximity within the same Availability Zone, optimizing network performance and reducing communication latency.
