AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate SAA-C03 Practice Test 87
Question 860
A frequently accessed EFS dataset generates high sustained read/write throughput. A cost proposal moves it to the cheapest tier without checking throughput or request charges, and users already see throttling. What should be measured?
- Compare only stored GiB and treat throughput as universally unlimited and free.
- Reduce file permission checks as the sole mechanism to obtain a lower EFS throughput rate.
- Turn off file system metrics so the proposed tier appears underused.
- Benchmark EFS throughput mode and selected storage/performance pricing under the actual high-throughput workload.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:EFS performance and billing differ by mode and access tier; a low storage rate can be overwhelmed by throughput needs.
Incorrect Answers
A:Measured throttling already contradicts the assumption of unlimited I/O.
B:Security controls are not a replacement for provisioning a workable filesystem throughput model.
C:Missing telemetry does not establish actual performance or price viability.
Question 861
A rendering pipeline has several Linux workers in the same Availability Zone that share an NFS workspace. Files are temporary derivatives of an immutable S3 source and can be regenerated within minutes after an AZ loss. The team currently pays for a Regional EFS file system although this workspace has no cross-AZ availability requirement. Which storage design should it evaluate to reduce the file-system bill while preserving shared NFS access?
- Create an EFS One Zone file system and its mount target in the worker AZ, migrate the regenerable files, and retain a tested rebuild or backup plan for AZ loss.
- Keep the Regional EFS file system but delete mount targets in other AZs to convert its underlying regional storage billing to One Zone.
- Transition continuously rewritten hot workspace files into the EFS Archive tier and assume that they retain the same access latency and retrieval economics.
- Replace the shared NFS filesystem with S3 Glacier Deep Archive directly mounted as a POSIX filesystem without application changes.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:EFS One Zone stores data redundantly within one AZ and generally reduces storage cost for data that does not need multi-AZ resilience. It is a separate file-system type, so migrate to a new eligible One Zone file system and account for the ability to rebuild after AZ loss.
Incorrect Answers
B:Removing Regional EFS mount targets does not convert the Regional storage design or its billing into the separate One Zone file-system type.
C:EFS Archive is for files accessed rarely, with different access and billing characteristics; actively rewritten scratch files are poor candidates for unconditional archival and do not retain identical latency.
D:S3 Glacier Deep Archive is an object archival class, not an instantly available shared POSIX/NFS file system. Substituting it would break the stated Linux filesystem interface and access requirements.
Question 862
A domain-joined Windows departmental archive uses an existing FSx for Windows File Server SMB share to store large files. Measurements show very low IOPS, rare access, and no latency-sensitive application or shadow-copy requirement. A new file system is being budgeted. Which storage type is the more economical starting point if the measured limits are acceptable?
- Select SSD because every Windows file share requires provisioned SSD IOPS to preserve Active Directory authentication.
- Select HDD for the new FSx for Windows file system, validate its baseline/burst IOPS against the measured usage, and keep SMB/ACL support.
- Move the live departmental SMB share to EFS NFS and assume Windows clients retain native NTFS behavior without changes.
- Use an EBS gp3 volume mounted to one EC2 instance and assume Multi-AZ SMB access is provided as a managed FSx feature.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:HDD is available in FSx for Windows and can cost less for mostly idle departmental shares, although its lower IOPS, throughput and higher latency must be checked.
Incorrect Answers
A:SSD offers stronger latency and IOPS but costs more; low-utilization large-file shares are suitable HDD candidates after performance validation.
C:EFS is NFS rather than a drop-in Windows SMB/NTFS replacement; it changes the protocol and directory/ACL assumptions.
D:EBS is block storage for attached compute and does not itself supply a managed, highly available Windows SMB filesystem.
Question 863
An HPC job generates 12 TB of temporary scratch files that are discarded after each run, while a separate job maintains a long-lived reference dataset. Which FSx for Lustre spending decision is appropriate?
- Use FSx for Lustre persistent deployment for both datasets because checkpointing and node replacement require all scratch intermediates to be durably retained.
- Use a scratch deployment for the long-lived authoritative reference data, relying only on a single transient filesystem to meet future retrieval obligations.
- Choose scratch deployment for reproducible temporary files and persistent deployment for the long-lived reference dataset where its durability and operational requirements warrant it.
- Move both datasets to EBS Multi-Attach and treat one block volume as a managed replacement for a shared parallel Lustre file system.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:FSx for Lustre scratch deployment fits regenerable high-throughput intermediate files. The long-lived reference data should use a suitably durable persistent design and verified external recovery where required.
Incorrect Answers
A:Persistent storage can be useful for long-lived data but adds durability characteristics not needed for disposable, regenerable scratch. Cost and operational fit should be evaluated separately.
B:Scratch deployment is intended for temporary processing data rather than the only authoritative copy of records that must survive file-system loss.
D:EBS Multi-Attach is block storage with supported-instance and filesystem coordination limits. It does not reproduce the distributed namespace or parallel file access semantics of FSx for Lustre.
Question 864
A GPU training experiment has finished and all validated model artifacts were exported to S3. Its large high-throughput FSx for Lustre filesystem remains provisioned at peak size for months. What should the cost review do?
- Reduce the existing FSx for Lustre file system storage capacity in place to the smallest setting, retaining the same filesystem.
- Remove the exported S3 model artifacts and retain the oversized FSx filesystem as their only long-term copy.
- Stop the EC2 training nodes but keep the oversized FSx for Lustre filesystem provisioned until the next experiment in several months.
- Confirm no unexported data or active dependencies remain, then delete the unused FSx filesystem and provision suitable new capacity for a future run.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:FSx for Lustre storage incurs provisioned charges while the filesystem exists, even when training is finished. After validating exports and access dependencies, deleting the idle scratch filesystem stops those costs; its provisioned storage size cannot simply be reduced in place.
Incorrect Answers
A:Amazon FSx for Lustre supports increasing file-system storage capacity, not decreasing it in place. This is not an available way to rightsize the existing idle allocation.
B:Deleting verified durable artifacts contradicts the retention objective and leaves the expensive provisioned filesystem active.
C:Stopping compute reduces EC2 hours, but provisioned FSx storage and throughput charges continue independently while the file system exists.
Question 865
A Windows file service has provisioned FSx throughput capable of 1 GB/s, but CloudWatch shows peaks below 60 MB/s and no latency pressure. Which tuning action could reduce cost?
- Right-size FSx throughput/storage configuration after benchmarking service peaks and preserving adequate headroom.
- Increase throughput further because additional idle capacity automatically earns a discount.
- Choose file throughput solely from total directory count without any I/O measurements.
- Disable SMB access logs and assume removed logs eliminate filesystem throughput charges.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Overprovisioned managed filesystem throughput can be costly when the real access rate is much smaller.
Incorrect Answers
B:More provisioned performance may raise costs without helping users.
C:Namespace size does not reliably indicate active bytes-per-second or IOPS needs.
D:Log settings and throughput provisioning are different cost dimensions.
Question 866
An office synchronizes 3 TB of nightly CAD exports from on-premises NAS to supported S3 destinations. The current homegrown rsync fleet requires recurring patching, scheduling and exception repair. Which managed service should be compared?
- Use a VPC Site-to-Site VPN alone and assume the tunnel schedules every file delta automatically.
- Evaluate AWS DataSync for scheduled transfer, incremental copies and verification, including agent and data-movement pricing.
- Keep adding unmanaged rsync EC2 hosts without comparing maintenance and reliability expenses.
- Use S3 lifecycle expiration to pull local NAS changes without any copy agent.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:DataSync can replace custom transfer orchestration for supported endpoints, reducing operational overhead despite its service charges.
Incorrect Answers
A:A network path does not perform file discovery or synchronization.
C:More bespoke servers may increase operational costs rather than meet the managed-transfer goal.
D:Lifecycle actions operate on objects already in S3, not arbitrary on-premises shares.
Question 867
A storage administrator needs a daily account-wide view of total S3 bucket sizes and object counts over the last ten days to spot unexpected archive growth. No prefix-level grouping, CloudWatch metric publication or long historical queries are required. S3 Storage Lens is already available. Which monitoring configuration avoids unnecessary recurring charges?
- Enable CloudTrail data events for every object GET and PUT and derive current bucket bytes exclusively from those events, rather than using existing aggregated storage metrics.
- Upgrade every S3 Storage Lens dashboard to the advanced tier because bucket-level usage trends require paid prefix-level activity metrics and a fifteen-month query window.
- Use free-tier S3 Storage Lens summary metrics for daily bucket-level trends within its query window; enable paid advanced metrics only if the requirements later expand.
- Run an every-minute Lambda recursive bucket listing to calculate bytes and store high-resolution custom metrics for all objects regardless of inventory size.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:The free-tier S3 Storage Lens dashboard includes daily aggregate bucket metrics with a fourteen-day query window, covering the requested ten days without advanced tier charges.
Incorrect Answers
A:CloudTrail object data events record eligible API activity and incur additional collection charges; they are not the simplest reliable method to summarize stored bucket bytes and object counts.
B:Advanced S3 Storage Lens supports granular metrics and longer query history for an additional fee. These capabilities exceed the specified ten-day aggregated bucket usage requirement.
D:Frequent full object listings add API, compute and custom metric costs. The requested daily aggregate observations are already available through the managed free metrics.
Question 868
A business already uses an AWS Transfer Family SFTP server backed by S3. Partners send files only for two hours on weekdays, so operations stop the Transfer Family server for the rest of each day. Finance expects the endpoint-hour charge to fall to roughly two hours per business day, but the bill barely changes. Which explanation and cost action is correct?
- Stop the SFTP server at the end of each partner window and assume protocol endpoint-hour billing ends when its status becomes OFFLINE.
- Schedule StopServer with EventBridge Scheduler rather than stopping it manually; assume automated stops eliminate hourly endpoint charges.
- Replace the inbound SFTP server with an SFTP connector, assuming the connector accepts external partners’ incoming SFTP sessions without a managed server endpoint.
- Transfer Family bills configured server protocol endpoint hours until the server is deleted, even while stopped, plus applicable transfer volume. Model ongoing endpoint and per-GB costs, and retire unnecessary endpoints rather than relying on StopServer for savings.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:AWS charges for each protocol-enabled Transfer Family server endpoint by elapsed endpoint time even if the server is stopped, in addition to billed data movement. Delete no-longer-needed server endpoints after preserving required identities and configurations, and evaluate traffic volume and any re-creation overhead if a scheduled design is considered.
Incorrect Answers
A:Transfer Family protocol endpoint-hour charges continue while an existing server is OFFLINE. Stopping prevents transfers but does not end endpoint-hour billing; metered data-transfer and backend storage are separate dimensions.
B:EventBridge Scheduler can automate calls to StopServer, but the way the command is triggered cannot change AWS billing for an existing endpoint. Removing an unused server endpoint, not merely stopping it, ends protocol endpoint-hour charges.
C:AWS Transfer Family SFTP connectors initiate managed outbound SFTP connections to remote servers; they are not interchangeable with inbound SFTP endpoints used by external partners. Their different pricing model does not remove the need to receive incoming files.
Question 869
A project compares online and offline movement of 200 TB from a data center to S3. Its spreadsheet counts only S3 ingress as 'free' and omits WAN provider fees, courier handling and destination storage charges. What should the estimate include?
- Model end-to-end transfer economics: source/network egress, transport/service or device handling, duration and target storage class.
- Compare only the AWS DataSync per-GiB service charge against a device rental quote, excluding the source ISP and physical handling.
- Select the lowest-priced S3 storage class and ignore the retention and retrieval behavior of the migrated workload.
- Assume 200 TB can meet the cutover window on the existing connection without measuring achievable throughput or scheduling terminal access.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Cost online and physical migration end to end, accounting for WAN provider/source charges, AWS service fees, transfer rate and elapsed time, device/facility or courier logistics, and the destination data-storage lifecycle.
Incorrect Answers
B:A valid migration estimate needs source egress/link cost, network performance, hardware/facility operations, and cutover time, not merely the AWS service fee.
C:Target class is part of the total cost, but archive retrieval, early deletion and actual access needs can erase a superficially lower per-GiB price.
D:Effective transfer capacity and setup/transport time are project constraints; omitting them can make a cheap-looking plan infeasible.
Question 870
An organization holds many years of AWS Backup recovery points. Most are retained for compliance but expected to be restored rarely. Backup copies may support cold archival for the selected resource. What optimization is valid?
- Apply cold storage to every recovery point and assume all AWS Backup resource types support identical lifecycle modes.
- Evaluate supported AWS Backup cold-storage transitions and retention while ensuring required recovery RTO and resource eligibility.
- Reduce every retained recovery point to one day despite an eight-year compliance rule.
- Store the only recovery copy on a transient instance-store disk to avoid vault charges.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Eligible backup types can have differentiated lifecycle economics; unsupported cold transitions or slow restore behavior can break recovery policy.
Incorrect Answers
A:Cold backup support and transition constraints depend on resource and backup type.
C:A low bill is not valid if legally required recovery history is destroyed.
D:Ephemeral host storage cannot satisfy long-lived independent recovery.