AWS SAA Mock Exam 2 - Advanced Scenarios

📝 Exam Information

  • Duration: 130 minutes
  • Questions: 65 questions
  • Passing Score: 72% (47/65 correct answers)
  • Question Format: Multiple choice và multiple response

Question 1

A company runs a mission-critical application on EC2 instances across multiple AZs. The application requires sub-millisecond latency between instances và access to a shared file system. Which solution provides the LOWEST latency?

A) Use EBS with Provisioned IOPS volumes và mount across instances B) Use EFS with Max I/O performance mode C) Use FSx for Lustre with SSD storage D) Use instance store volumes với application-level replication

Answer: C Explanation: FSx for Lustre cung cấp sub-millisecond latency với SSD storage, được thiết kế cho high-performance computing workloads.

Question 2

An organization needs to migrate 500 TB của data từ on-premises datacenter to S3. The transfer must complete within 2 weeks và minimize impact on existing network bandwidth. What is the MOST cost-effective solution?

A) AWS Direct Connect với 10 Gbps connection B) AWS Snowball Edge với multiple devices C) S3 Transfer Acceleration với multipart uploads D) AWS DataSync với bandwidth throttling

Answer: B Explanation: Snowball Edge có thể transfer 100TB per device, cần 5 devices cho 500TB, hoàn thành trong vài ngày mà không ảnh hưởng network bandwidth.

Question 3

A web application experiences unpredictable traffic spikes. During normal periods, 2 instances handle the load, but during spikes, up to 20 instances are needed. The spikes last 10-15 minutes và occur 2-3 times per day. Which scaling strategy is MOST cost-effective?

A) Use Auto Scaling với target tracking scaling policies B) Use scheduled scaling with CloudWatch Events C) Use predictive scaling với machine learning models D) Maintain 20 instances with CPU-based scaling

Answer: A Explanation: Target tracking scaling tự động adjust capacity based on metrics, cost-effective cho unpredictable traffic patterns.

Question 4

A company stores sensitive customer data in DynamoDB. Compliance requires that all data access must be logged, including failed attempts, with real-time alerting on suspicious activities. Which combination provides this capability?

A) CloudTrail + CloudWatch Logs + CloudWatch Alarms B) DynamoDB Streams + Lambda + SNS C) VPC Flow Logs + GuardDuty + EventBridge D) AWS Config + CloudFormation + SQS

Answer: A Explanation: CloudTrail logs all API calls (including failed attempts), CloudWatch Logs stores logs, và CloudWatch Alarms provide real-time alerting.

Question 5

An application processes images uploaded to S3. Processing takes 5-10 minutes per image và requires 4 GB memory. The application processes 100-1000 images per day with unpredictable timing. Which compute solution is MOST cost-effective?

A) ECS Fargate với auto-scaling B) Lambda với 10GB memory allocation C) EC2 Spot Instances với Auto Scaling D) Batch với EC2 Spot Instances

Answer: D Explanation: AWS Batch với Spot Instances optimal cho batch processing workloads với variable timing và long processing times.

Question 6

A multi-tier application requires database failover with zero data loss. The database receives 10,000 writes per second during peak hours. Read replicas are used for reporting queries. Which RDS configuration meets these requirements?

A) Multi-AZ deployment với synchronous replication B) Aurora với Multi-Master clusters C) Read replicas with automated failover D) Cross-region automated backups

Answer: B Explanation: Aurora Multi-Master provides zero-downtime failover với multiple write nodes và zero data loss.

Question 7

A company needs to analyze streaming data from IoT devices in real-time để detect anomalies. The solution must process 1 million events per second với latency under 100ms. Which architecture is MOST appropriate?

A) Kinesis Data Streams + Lambda + DynamoDB B) Kinesis Data Firehose + S3 + Athena C) SQS + EC2 + RDS D) Kinesis Analytics + Kinesis Data Streams + Lambda

Answer: D Explanation: Kinesis Analytics provides real-time processing với SQL queries, Kinesis Data Streams handles high throughput, Lambda triggers immediate actions.

Question 8

An application serves static content globally với requirements cho 99.99% availability và lowest possible latency. Content is updated monthly. Which solution provides optimal performance?

A) S3 với CloudFront và default TTL 24 hours B) S3 với CloudFront, Origin Shield, và TTL 30 days C) Multiple S3 buckets với Cross-Region Replication D) EFS với CloudFront caching

Answer: B Explanation: Origin Shield reduces origin load, long TTL optimal cho infrequently updated content, CloudFront provides global edge caching.

Question 9

A financial application requires encryption at rest, in transit, và in use for all sensitive data. The application processes credit card information và must comply with PCI DSS. Which combination meets these requirements?

A) EBS encryption + ALB HTTPS + application-level encryption B) KMS + CloudHSM + Nitro Enclaves + TLS 1.3 C) S3 SSE-S3 + VPC endpoints + Lambda D) RDS encryption + VPN + WAF

Answer: B Explanation: CloudHSM provides hardware security module, Nitro Enclaves enables encryption in use, KMS manages keys, TLS 1.3 for transit encryption.

Question 10

A company runs microservices on ECS Fargate behind an ALB. Services need to communicate securely without exposing traffic to the internet. Some services require static IP addresses for third-party integrations. Which solution provides this?

A) VPC với private subnets + VPC endpoints + NAT Gateway B) Service mesh với App Mesh + PrivateLink + Elastic IPs C) API Gateway với private integration + Lambda D) Direct Connect + private VIFs + security groups

Answer: B Explanation: App Mesh provides service-to-service communication, PrivateLink keeps traffic private, Elastic IPs provide static addresses for third-party integrations.

Question 11

An organization needs disaster recovery for their on-premises database. RTO requirement is 4 hours, RPO is 1 hour. The database is 5 TB với 50 GB daily changes. Which DR solution is MOST cost-effective?

A) DMS continuous replication to RDS Multi-AZ B) Weekly full backups + daily incremental to S3 + RDS restore C) Cross-region RDS read replica với automated failover D) Database snapshots every hour to S3 + manual restore

Answer: C Explanation: Cross-region read replica meets RTO/RPO requirements với automated failover capability và cost-effective for large databases.

Question 12

A video streaming application serves content globally. Videos are watched most frequently in the first 24 hours after upload, then access drops significantly. Content must be available immediately when requested. Which storage strategy optimizes costs?

A) S3 Standard + CloudFront với 24-hour TTL B) S3 Intelligent-Tiering + CloudFront với 1-year TTL C) S3 Standard + lifecycle to IA after 30 days + Glacier after 90 days D) S3 Standard cho new content + S3 IA cho older content + CloudFront

Answer: B Explanation: Intelligent-Tiering automatically moves objects between access tiers, CloudFront ensures immediate availability, long TTL reduces origin requests.

Question 13

A mobile application backend uses API Gateway với Lambda functions. During peak usage, Lambda functions experience cold starts causing 5-second delays. The application requires sub-second response times. Which solution addresses this?

A) Increase Lambda memory allocation to 3GB B) Use Provisioned Concurrency for Lambda functions C) Replace Lambda với ECS Fargate containers D) Add ElastiCache layer cho caching responses

Answer: B Explanation: Provisioned Concurrency keeps functions warm, eliminating cold start delays cho critical functions.

Question 14

A data analytics workload processes large datasets using Spark clusters. Jobs run for 2-6 hours several times per week. Cost optimization is the primary concern while maintaining performance. Which solution is optimal?

A) EMR với On-Demand instances + Auto Scaling B) EMR với Spot Instances + On-Demand master nodes C) ECS với Spot Instances + Application Load Balancer D) EC2 Spot Fleet với mixed instance types

Answer: B Explanation: EMR Spot Instances provide significant cost savings cho fault-tolerant workloads, On-Demand master ensures job completion.

Question 15

A company migrates applications to AWS và needs centralized logging for compliance. Logs must be searchable, retained for 7 years, và costs must be minimized. Daily log volume is 100 GB. Which solution meets requirements?

A) CloudWatch Logs với 7-year retention B) ELK Stack on EC2 với S3 Glacier storage C) CloudWatch Logs + S3 lifecycle + Elasticsearch Service D) Kinesis Data Firehose + S3 + Athena + Glacier Deep Archive

Answer: D Explanation: Kinesis Data Firehose streams logs to S3, Athena provides search capability, Glacier Deep Archive minimizes long-term storage costs.

Question 16-65

[Continuing with more advanced questions covering all AWS SAA domains...]

Answer Key Summary

  1. C - FSx for Lustre
  2. B - Snowball Edge
  3. A - Auto Scaling target tracking
  4. A - CloudTrail + CloudWatch
  5. D - Batch với Spot Instances
  6. B - Aurora Multi-Master
  7. D - Kinesis Analytics
  8. B - CloudFront với Origin Shield
  9. B - KMS + CloudHSM + Nitro Enclaves
  10. B - App Mesh + PrivateLink
  11. C - Cross-region read replica
  12. B - S3 Intelligent-Tiering
  13. B - Provisioned Concurrency
  14. B - EMR với Spot Instances
  15. D - Kinesis + S3 + Glacier

Scoring Guide

  • 47-52 correct (72-80%): PASS - Strong foundation
  • 53-58 correct (81-89%): GOOD - Well prepared
  • 59-65 correct (90-100%): EXCELLENT - Ready for exam

Study Focus Areas (Based on missed questions)

  • High Availability & DR: Questions 6, 11
  • Performance Optimization: Questions 1, 8, 13
  • Cost Optimization: Questions 2, 12, 14, 15
  • Security & Compliance: Questions 4, 9
  • Serverless & Containers: Questions 5, 10, 13