AWS Cloud Practitioner Practice Test (CLF-C02)

Reserved Instances purchased in a management account within AWS Organizations can be automatically applied to matching instances in any member account. This happens when the pricing benefit of Reserved Instances is shared across the organization, provided the instances in the member accounts match the specifications of the purchased Reserved Instances. This benefit does not require separate Reserved Instances to be purchased for each account; instead, the discount is shared and applied centrally from the management account to matching instances across member accounts. This helps the company save on costs across its entire AWS environment.

Auto Scaling helps to adjust the capacity of the infrastructure to maintain steady, predictable performance and cost in the face of variable workload demands. It automates the process by scaling compute resources up or down based on criteria defined by the user, such as CPU utilization or network I/O. This contrasts with just using a standard compute instance service, which does not offer scaling without manual intervention or additional configuration. Serverless services like Lambda are designed for short, stateless computations and are typically managed without the need for scaling settings. Load balancing is a technique to spread workloads across multiple compute resources but does not inherently adjust the resource count.

The service designed for customers to engage with certified cloud professionals for project-specific assistance like architecture optimization or security assessments is AWS IQ. This platform connects users with third-party experts on demand, which suits the needs of the tech company described in the question. In contrast, AWS Activate is aimed at providing startups with resources such as credit towards services, not direct expert consultancy. AWS Managed Services offers full management of AWS environments for enterprise-scale operations, not individual project guidance. Lastly, the AWS Support plan provides general support and troubleshooting for AWS products and services, rather than specialized project help.

Simple Storage Service (S3) encrypts data at rest by default using managed keys (Server-Side Encryption with Amazon S3-Managed Keys - SSE-S3). Users do not need to manually enable this feature; it's applied automatically, ensuring data is protected as soon as it is uploaded. Other services, such as EC2 and RDS, offer encryption capabilities as well but require explicit enablement. AWS Key Management Service (KMS) is a service that manages encryption keys and is not a service that stores user data.

The correct choice is a cloud service provider's pricing calculator, which is designed to assist users in estimating the potential monthly costs for using virtual servers, databases, and storage based on their intended use configurations. It provides detailed cost projections, enabling companies to evaluate financial implications and plan their budget before committing to services. The incorrect choices either do not serve the purpose of cost estimation or are specific services unrelated to preemptive financial planning for cloud migration.

AWS Cost Explorer provides up to 13 months (and, with advanced features, up to 38 months) of historical cost and usage data, lets you filter and graph that data by dimensions such as service or linked account, and can project future spending for up to the next 12 months based on historical trends. AWS Budgets can alert when spending exceeds thresholds but does not provide the same interactive visualization interface. AWS Trusted Advisor offers cost-optimization checks, and AWS Billing Conductor focuses on custom billing relationships-they are not designed primarily for cost visualization and forecasting.

The Command Line Interface is the preferred tool for a developer focused on automation, as it allows for powerful scripting capabilities and can be integrated directly with shell scripts. This approach provides a programmatic way to manage resources which is in line with the need for automation and is particularly useful for those familiar with command-line tools. The Management Console is better suited for manual, interactive tasks, which is not ideal for the developer's requirements. While CodeBuild is a service for building and testing code, not for broad service management, and SDKs are mainly used for application development rather than direct management of services.

Infrastructure as code (IaC) is the correct option because it allows for the automated provisioning and management of cloud resources through code, which can be version-controlled and reused. This is beneficial for maintaining consistency across multiple environments. Using the AWS Management Console is not ideal for tasks that need to be replicated or version-controlled, as it is a graphical interface designed for manual operations. Although programmatic access via APIs, SDKs, or CLI can also be automated, they do not inherently provide the same benefits of version control and reusability that are core to IaC.

Spot Instances are the most suitable option for a workload with variable start times that can be interrupted and seeks to minimize costs, especially in a non-production environment. Spot Instances allow customers to take advantage of unused EC2 capacity at a reduced cost, up to 90% off the On-Demand price, with the caveat that the instances can be reclaimed by AWS with little notice if the capacity is needed elsewhere. This makes them ideal for flexible, interruptible workloads like development and testing. On-Demand Instances are better for workloads requiring immediate and uninterrupted capacity. Reserved Instances and Savings Plans provide cost savings for predictable, steady-state usage, but they come with a commitment, and they aren't typically the best fit for unpredictable, sporadic workloads that can tolerate interruptions.

AWS Support plans are account-based, covering all services used under a single AWS account, and not service-specific. When you purchase an AWS Support plan, it provides support for all AWS services that your account uses, allowing for a more streamlined support experience.

The correct choice would be the most comprehensive support tier offered, giving access to 24/7 senior engineers, proactive guidance, and a dedicated point of contact for addressing infrastructure and architectural queries. Such a level of support is essential for managing critical applications and is characteristic of a premium enterprise-tier support plan. The basic developer-oriented tier typically provides only business-hours email support and lacks direct access to technical account management or proactive service event management. On the other hand, the mid-level business tier does not include a dedicated contact, whereas the on-ramp version offers reduced features in comparison to the full premium enterprise package.

The correct answer is 'Rehosting (Lift and Shift)' because it facilitates a quick and straightforward transition by moving applications to the cloud without any changes. It minimizes the downtime during the migration process and allows the enterprise to start realizing the benefits of the cloud quickly.

While 'Refactoring' would eventually provide a more cloud-optimized application, it is a more time-consuming and complex approach that doesn't prioritize minimal service disruption. 'Retain' is not a migration strategy, as it implies keeping applications on-premises. 'Relocating' is generally focused on moving physical assets, which is not applicable in the context of this question.

Using Amazon Route 53 with latency-based or failover routing in combination with Amazon CloudFront provides a global, multi-Region solution. Route 53 directs users to the Region that offers the lowest latency and can automatically reroute traffic if a Region becomes unavailable, supporting disaster recovery. CloudFront caches content at edge locations worldwide, placing data closer to end users for faster delivery. Deploying only across multiple Availability Zones in one Region adds local high availability but does not address worldwide latency or cross-Region failover. Setting up AWS Direct Connect for every location improves dedicated network links for on-premises environments, not end-user web latency. AWS DataSync is a data-transfer service and does not serve live web traffic or provide latency reduction.

To migrate a large volume of data under constrained network conditions with minimal downtime, a physical data transport solution is optimal. The correct service offers a petabyte-scale data transport solution using secure, shippable devices, enabling substantial data transfers into and out of the cloud without reliance on internet bandwidth. In contrast, the incorrect options are designed for online data transfers requiring consistent, high-speed internet connections. One is tailored for continuous online replication of data, another establishes a dedicated network connection for more consistent and potentially high-volume data transfer, and the last one is focused on secure online file transfers, none of which are suitable considering the limited network connectivity and the need for minimal downtime.

The correct response is "AWS Direct Connect" as it provides a private route from an on-premises network to the cloud provider's network, resulting in better bandwidth throughput and a more reliable network experience than internet connections. The Virtual Private Network (VPN) employs the public internet and is therefore not dedicated. Amazon Route 53 is not a connectivity service; it is a DNS web service. While AWS Transit Gateway does aid in managing network connectivity, it does not offer a dedicated physical link.

Elasticity describes the ability of cloud resources to be provisioned or released automatically in response to real-time demand. Because the organization pays only for what it actually uses, it avoids the need to purchase and maintain excess on-premises infrastructure. Scalability, although related, focuses on increasing capacity and does not necessarily imply the automatic reduction of resources. Global reach refers to AWS's worldwide Regions and Availability Zones, while the shared responsibility model defines how security and compliance duties are divided between AWS and the customer; neither directly addresses demand-based resource adjustment.

When using Amazon EC2, AWS is responsible for the infrastructure that runs all of the services offered in the AWS Cloud. This includes the hardware, the software that runs the virtualization environment, and the physical security of the data centers. However, the customer is responsible for the security in the cloud, which includes the operating system, applications, and data on the EC2 instances. Therefore, it falls to the customer to ensure that the operating system patches are kept up to date.

Economies of scale in the AWS Cloud mean that as more customers use AWS services, the cost of those services decreases for everyone because AWS can operate more efficiently and pass on the savings. Other AWS Cloud benefits, such as flexibility (for example, elasticity) and global reach, are also important but are not directly related to economies of scale.

The benefit of AWS Cloud's global infrastructure encompasses improving speed of deployment and providing global reach because AWS has a vast network of data centers across the globe. Customers can deploy services in any of the AWS Regions to serve their users closer to where they are, decreasing latency and improving user experience. Other options listed do not specifically target the improvement of service deployment speed and geographical reach as much as the global infrastructure does.

Amazon Inspector is specifically designed to automatically assess applications, including serverless computing functions, for vulnerabilities or unintended network exposure. It provides detailed assessments that help ensure you are following security best practices. Security Hub and GuardDuty are also crucial in monitoring security posture, but they serve different specific functions compared to Amazon Inspector.