SAA-C03 Exam Dumps - Amazon Web Services AWS Certified Associate Questions and Answers

Explanation (AWS Docs):

ElastiCache provides an in-memory cache layer for frequently accessed queries, reducing latency and offloading read pressure from the database.

“You can improve database performance by caching frequently accessed data using Amazon ElastiCache.”

— ElastiCache Overview

To improve read performance for a MySQL-based RDS database under load, you can:

Use Read Replicas: Amazon RDS supports MySQL read replicas, which help offload read operations from the primary database, improving performance during high traffic.

Use ElastiCache (Memcached): Adding an in-memory cache layer using Amazon ElastiCache reduces the load on the RDS instance by serving frequent queries directly from memory, especially when data is not updated often.

Option A (AWS WAF) is for web security, not database performance. Option D relates to storage optimization, not query latency. Option E would require re-architecting from relational to NoSQL, which is unnecessary and disruptive.

AmazonSES (Simple Email Service)allows for the automatic ingestion of incoming emails. By setting up email receiving in SES and creating a rule set with a receipt rule, you can configure SES to invoke anAWS Lambda functionwhenever an email is received. The Lambda function can then process the email body and attachments, saving any attachments to an Amazon S3 bucket. This solution is highly scalable, cost-effective, and provides near real-time processing of emails with minimal operational overhead.

Option B (Content filtering): This only filters emails based on content and does not provide the functionality to save attachments to S3.

Option C (S3 Event Notifications): While SES can store emails in S3, SES with Lambda offers more flexibility for processing attachments in real-time.

Option D (EventBridge rule): EventBridge cannot directly listen for incoming emails, making this solution incorrect.

AWS References:

Receiving Email with Amazon SES

Invoking Lambda from SES

Auto Scalingis the most effective solution for ensuring seamless scalability of a stateless application. Key points:

Dleverages Auto Scaling with a Spot Fleet for cost efficiency and attaches an ALB to distribute traffic.

A and Bdo not provide automated scaling and would require manual intervention to add more instances.

Cchanges the instance type but does not scale out horizontally, which is required here.

AWS Documentation Reference:

Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling

Amazon RDS Proxy helps manage thousands of concurrent database connections by pooling and reusing them efficiently. It is especially useful for serverless applications like AWS Lambda that can open numerous connections quickly, potentially overwhelming the database. Using RDS Proxy reduces connection management overhead and improves fault tolerance.

AWS Compute Optimizerprovides detailed recommendations for optimizingAmazon EBS volumes, including insights into underutilized volumes, inefficient configurations, and potential cost savings. It analyzes usage patterns and provides recommendations based on historical data, making it the ideal tool for this use case.

Option A (Amazon Inspector): Amazon Inspector is for security assessments, not for cost optimization.

Option B (Systems Manager): Systems Manager does not specifically provide EBS optimization recommendations.

Option C (CloudWatch): CloudWatch metrics help monitor usage but do not offer optimization recommendations like Compute Optimizer.

AWS References:

AWS Compute Optimizer

This solution provides the most secure access for external support engineers with the least exposure to potential security risks.

AWS Systems Manager (SSM) and Session Manager: Systems Manager Session Manager allows secure and auditable access to EC2 instances without the need to open inbound SSH ports or manage SSH keys. This reduces the attack surface significantly. The SSM Agent must be installed and configured on all instances, and the instances must have an instance profile with the necessary IAM permissions to connect to Systems Manager.

IAM Identity Center: IAM Identity Center provides centralized management of access to the AWS Management Console for external support engineers. By using IAM Identity Center, youcan control console access securely and ensure that external engineers have the appropriate permissions based on their roles.

Why Not Other Options?:

Option B (Local IAM user credentials): This approach is less secure because it involves managing local IAM user credentials and does not leverage the centralized management and security benefits of IAM Identity Center.

Option C (Security group with SSH access): Allowing SSH access opens up the infrastructure to potential security risks, even when restricted by IP addresses. It also requires managing SSH keys, which can be cumbersome and less secure.

Option D (Bastion host): While a bastion host can secure SSH access, it still requires managing SSH keys and opening ports. This approach is less secure and more operationally intensive compared to using Session Manager.

AWS References:

AWS Systems Manager Session Manager- Documentation on using Session Manager for secure instance access.

AWS IAM Identity Center- Overview of IAM Identity Center and its capabilities for managing user access.

Correct Approach:

AWS Security Groups:

Security groups operate at the instance level, making them the ideal tool for controlling access to specific resources such as an Amazon RDS database.

By default, security groups deny all incoming traffic. You can allow access by explicitly specifying another security group.

Associating an RDS database security group with the EC2 instances' security group ensures only the specified EC2 instances can access the RDS database.

Incorrect Options Analysis:

Option A: Using CIDR blocks for IP-based access is less secure and more difficult to manage. Additionally, Auto Scaling groups dynamically allocate IP addresses, making this approach impractical.

Option B: Network ACLs (NACLs) operate at the subnet level and are stateless. While NACLs can deny or allow traffic, they are not suited to application-specific access control.

Option D: Similar to Option B, using a NACL with CIDR ranges for EC2 IPs is difficult to manage and not application-specific.

An Application Load Balancer supports path- and host-based routing, which makes it ideal for routing requests based on subdomains. EC2 Auto Scaling ensures that the number of instances adjusts dynamically based on traffic, which helps manage cost and performance during predictable peak hours.

To enforce that IAM users can only access Amazon RDS and no other AWS services, the recommended approach is to use a Deny statement with NotAction. This ensures that all actions are denied except RDS actions. Options A and B do not fully achieve the restriction: A only allows RDS but does not explicitly deny access to other services if another policy grants access; B’s explicit Deny for “*” would override all other permissions, including the intended RDS Allow, which would result in no access at all. Option D with permissions boundaries still allows other attached policies to grant access outside RDS. Therefore, C is the correct approach to enforce RDS-only access.

This solution is the most cost-effective and efficient way to break down costs per application.

Tagging Resources: By tagging all AWS resources with a specific key (e.g., "cost") and a value representing the application's name, you can easily identify and categorize costs associated with each application. This tagging strategy allows for granular tracking of costs within AWS.

Activating Cost Allocation Tags: Once tags are applied to resources, you need to activate cost allocation tags in the AWS Billing and Cost Management console. This ensures that the costs associated with each tag are included in your billing reports and can be used for cost analysis.

AWS Cost Explorer: Cost Explorer is a powerful tool that allows you to visualize, understand, and manage your AWS costs and usage over time. You can filter and group your cost data by the tags you’ve applied to resources, enabling you to easily see the cost breakdown for each application. Cost Explorer also supports generating regular reports, which can be scheduled and emailed to stakeholders.

Why Not Other Options?:

Option A (AWS Budgets): AWS Budgets is more focused on setting cost and usage thresholds and monitoring them, rather than providing detailed cost breakdowns by application.

Option B (Load Cost and Usage Reports into RDS): This approach is less cost-effective and involves more operational overhead, as it requires setting up and maintaining an RDS instance and running SQL queries.

Option D (AWS Billing and Cost Management Console): While you can download bills, this method is more manual and less dynamic compared to using Cost Explorer with activated tags.

AWS References:

AWS Tagging Strategies- Overview of how to use tagging to organize and track AWS resources.

AWS Cost Explorer- Details on how to use Cost Explorer to analyze costs.

Analysis:

The company's requirements are to migrate 5 PB of data from physical tapes to AWS within 6 months, preserve the data for 10 years, and ensure cost efficiency.AWS Storage Gateway Tape Gatewayis purpose-built for such use cases, as it seamlessly integrates with backup applications and provides virtual tape storage in Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive.

Why Option D is Correct:

Tape Gateway: Enables the migration of physical tapes to virtual tapes. Virtual tapes are stored in Amazon S3 and can later be archived in Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive for long-term storage.

Cost Efficiency: Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive is the lowest-cost storage class for long-term data preservation.

Operational Simplicity: Tape Gateway integrates with existing on-premises backup software, reducing the need for additional tools or manual processes.

Scalability: Can handle the migration of large datasets, such as 5 PB, within the required timeframe.

Why Other Options Are Not Ideal:

Option A:

AWS DataSync is not designed for reading data directly from physical tapes. Staging the data on local storage adds unnecessary complexity and cost.Not suitable.

Option B:

Using backup applications to write directly to S3 Glacier Deep Archive may not leverage AWS-native services optimally. Tape Gateway simplifies the workflow significantly.Less efficient.

Option C:

Snowball Edge is ideal for environments without high-bandwidth connectivity. However, the company already has a 10 Gbps Direct Connect, making Tape Gateway a better choice.Not cost-effective.

AWS References:

AWS Storage Gateway - Tape Gateway:AWS Documentation - Tape Gateway

Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive:AWS Documentation - Glacier Deep Archive

Amazon RDS Performance Insights is a “database performance tuning and monitoring feature” that can be enabled with a few clicks and “helps you quickly assess the load on your database” and identify bottlenecks. It surfaces key metrics, including DB load, top SQL, waits, and host metrics such as CPU utilization, which are commonly used indicators for right-sizing (up or down). This provides the lowest operational effort compared to building log pipelines or querying CloudTrail (which does not capture SQL workload characteristics). AWS X-Ray traces application requests, not database internals, and CloudWatch Logs aggregation requires custom ingestion and analysis. Enabling Performance Insights directly on the RDS instance provides actionable utilization data to right-size with minimal setup.

AWS Shield Advanced provides:

Advanced DDoS detection and mitigation

24/7 access to the AWS DDoS Response Team (DRT)

Real-time metrics and alerts via CloudWatch

Integrated with CloudFront, ALB, Route 53, and Global Accelerator

“Shield Advanced provides enhanced detection and mitigation for more sophisticated DDoS attacks and gives you access to the AWS DDoS Response Team (DRT).”

— AWS Shield Advanced Overview

Incorrect Options:

A (AWS WAF): For application-layer filtering only.

B (Shield Standard): Basic protection, no DRT or attack visibility.

C (Macie): Used for discovering sensitive data in S3, unrelated to DDoS.

The company’s requirements are:

Store gigabytes of rarely accessed files daily.

Files must be available within minutes during the first year.

Retain files for 7 years cost-effectively.

The S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval storage class provides low-cost, long-term storage for data accessed occasionally, with millisecond retrieval time. This fits the requirement for availability within minutes during the first year. After one year, transitioning files to S3 Glacier Deep Archive (the lowest cost S3 storage class) with longer retrieval times is cost-effective for data retention over 7 years.

Option B uses S3 Standard and Glacier Flexible Retrieval, which is higher cost during the first year and slower retrieval times. Option C is less cost-efficient because EBS volumes are expensive for rarely accessed data and snapshots incur additional costs. Option D uses EFS, which is designed for low-latency file storage but is more expensive than S3 Glacier classes for long-term archival.