SAA-C03 Question 245
Single answerA company runs a web application that experiences unpredictable traffic spikes throughout the day. The application is hosted on Amazon EC2 instances behind an Application Load Balancer (ALB). The company wants to ensure that the solution is cost-effective, high-performing, and capable of handling sudden traffic surges without manual intervention. Which solution should you implement?
- A
Use an Auto Scaling group with dynamic scaling policies to automatically adjust the number of EC2 instances based on traffic patterns.
- B
Manually launch additional EC2 instances when traffic increases and terminate them during low traffic periods.
- C
Switch to using Amazon ECS with Fargate to run the application without provisioning or managing EC2 instances.
- D
Upgrade all EC2 instances to larger instance types to handle traffic spikes.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
The best solution for handling unpredictable traffic spikes in a cost-effective and high-performing manner is to use an Auto Scaling group with dynamic scaling policies. This allows the number of EC2 instances to scale up or down automatically based on traffic demands, ensuring the application remains responsive while optimizing costs. Other options either require manual intervention, involve unnecessary architectural changes, or lead to over-provisioning and increased costs.
- A. Correct.
This is the correct answer. Auto Scaling groups with dynamic scaling policies allow the system to automatically adjust the number of EC2 instances in response to changing traffic patterns, ensuring elasticity and cost-efficiency.
- B. Incorrect.
This is not cost-effective or practical, as manual intervention is required to handle traffic spikes, which can lead to delays and underperformance during unexpected traffic surges.
- C. Incorrect.
While Amazon ECS with Fargate can provide elasticity and scalability, this solution may require significant changes to the application architecture and might not align with the company’s existing EC2-based deployment.
- D. Incorrect.
Upgrading to larger instance types increases the cost and does not provide elasticity. This approach may also lead to over-provisioning during low traffic periods, making it less cost-effective.