AWS CERTIFIED SOLUTIONS ARCHITECT – ASSOCIATE EXAM – EXAM-STYLE
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | VERIFIED AND WELL DETAILED ANSWERS | PLUS
RATIONALES | GUARANTEED PASS | 2026/27 LATEST UPDATE | EXAM PREP |
STUDY GUIDE | PRACTICE TEST
SECTION ONE: QUESTIONS 1–50
1. A company is deploying a critical web application on AWS and needs to
ensure high availability across multiple Availability Zones. The application uses
an Application Load Balancer (ALB) and an Auto Scaling group. What is the
MOST resilient architecture for the web tier?
A. Deploy the Auto Scaling group across multiple AWS Regions, with the ALB
configured to route traffic to all instances.
B. Deploy the Auto Scaling group across multiple Availability Zones within a
single Region, with the ALB configured to route traffic to all instances.
C. Deploy the Auto Scaling group in a single Availability Zone and use an ALB to
distribute traffic to instances in that zone.
D. Deploy the Auto Scaling group across multiple Availability Zones and configure
the ALB to only route traffic to instances in the primary Availability Zone.
Correct Answer: B. Deploy the Auto Scaling group across multiple Availability
Zones within a single Region, with the ALB configured to route traffic to all
instances.
Rationale: High availability is achieved by distributing resources across multiple
isolated locations. An Application Load Balancer (ALB) can route traffic to instances
in multiple Availability Zones (AZs), and an Auto Scaling group spanning these AZs
ensures that if one AZ fails, the application continues to operate in the others.
,Deploying across Regions (A) adds complexity and cost for disaster recovery, not
high availability. Single AZ deployments (C and D) are not resilient to AZ failures,
which is a primary design consideration for the Associate-level exam.
2. Which AWS service is BEST suited for a stateless, serverless compute
workload that needs to respond to HTTP requests and automatically scale
based on demand?
A. Amazon EC2 instances in an Auto Scaling group
B. AWS Fargate containers with a Network Load Balancer
C. AWS Lambda functions integrated with Amazon API Gateway
D. Amazon ECS with Amazon EBS-backed persistent storage
Correct Answer: C. AWS Lambda functions integrated with Amazon API
Gateway.
Rationale: AWS Lambda is a serverless compute service that runs code in response
to events. Amazon API Gateway acts as a front-door HTTP/REST API, triggering
Lambda functions. This combination is stateless, scales automatically based on
request volume, and requires no server management. EC2 and Fargate are not
serverless in the same way, as they involve managing underlying infrastructure or
containers. EBS-backed storage is for persistent data, which is not a primary
requirement for stateless workloads.
3. A Solutions Architect is designing a system that processes sensitive financial
data. The data must be encrypted at rest and in transit. Which combination of
,services and features would meet these security requirements?
A. Amazon S3 with default encryption enabled, and the application using HTTPS
for all data transfers.
B. AWS Key Management Service (KMS) for managing encryption keys, Amazon
S3 with server-side encryption (SSE-KMS), and TLS for data in transit.
C. AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) for SSL/TLS certificates, and Amazon S3 with
client-side encryption using customer-provided keys.
D. An encrypted Amazon EBS volume for the database, and a Virtual Private
Cloud (VPC) with an internet gateway for secure transit.
Correct Answer: B. AWS Key Management Service (KMS) for managing
encryption keys, Amazon S3 with server-side encryption (SSE-KMS), and TLS
for data in transit.
Rationale: This option provides a comprehensive approach. AWS KMS allows you to
centrally manage and control encryption keys. S3 SSE-KMS encrypts data at rest
with keys stored in KMS. Using TLS (Transport Layer Security) encrypts data while it
is being transmitted over the network. Option A is incomplete (S3 default
encryption is a good step, but using KMS provides more control). Option C involves
client-side encryption but doesn't leverage a managed key service as effectively as
KMS. Option D focuses on encrypting EBS volumes and the database but neglects
encryption for data in transit, which is crucial for financial data.
4. A company's on-premises data center has a 10 Gbps dedicated network
connection to AWS via AWS Direct Connect. They want to ensure that traffic
, destined for AWS stays on this private connection and does not traverse the
public internet. Which configuration step is required to achieve this?
A. Configure a Virtual Private Gateway (VGW) and advertise the on-premises
network routes to AWS over the Direct Connect connection.
B. Configure a public Virtual Interface (VIF) on the Direct Connect connection and
associate it with the VPC.
C. Configure a private Virtual Interface (VIF) on the Direct Connect connection
and associate it with the VPC's Virtual Private Gateway (VGW).
D. Enable route propagation on the VPC's main route table for the internet
gateway.
Correct Answer: C. Configure a private Virtual Interface (VIF) on the Direct
Connect connection and associate it with the VPC's Virtual Private Gateway
(VGW).
Rationale: A private Virtual Interface (VIF) provides a dedicated, private connection
from an on-premises environment to a VPC. This traffic bypasses the public internet
entirely. It is associated with a Virtual Private Gateway (VGW) that is attached to
the VPC. A public VIF (B) is used for accessing public AWS services (like S3) over the
Direct Connect connection, not for private VPC access. Advertising routes to AWS
(A) is part of the BGP process but does not define the type of VIF. Using an internet
gateway (D) routes traffic over the public internet, which defeats the purpose of
using Direct Connect for private connectivity.
5. A web application uses an Application Load Balancer (ALB) to distribute
traffic to a fleet of Amazon EC2 instances in an Auto Scaling group. The
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | VERIFIED AND WELL DETAILED ANSWERS | PLUS
RATIONALES | GUARANTEED PASS | 2026/27 LATEST UPDATE | EXAM PREP |
STUDY GUIDE | PRACTICE TEST
SECTION ONE: QUESTIONS 1–50
1. A company is deploying a critical web application on AWS and needs to
ensure high availability across multiple Availability Zones. The application uses
an Application Load Balancer (ALB) and an Auto Scaling group. What is the
MOST resilient architecture for the web tier?
A. Deploy the Auto Scaling group across multiple AWS Regions, with the ALB
configured to route traffic to all instances.
B. Deploy the Auto Scaling group across multiple Availability Zones within a
single Region, with the ALB configured to route traffic to all instances.
C. Deploy the Auto Scaling group in a single Availability Zone and use an ALB to
distribute traffic to instances in that zone.
D. Deploy the Auto Scaling group across multiple Availability Zones and configure
the ALB to only route traffic to instances in the primary Availability Zone.
Correct Answer: B. Deploy the Auto Scaling group across multiple Availability
Zones within a single Region, with the ALB configured to route traffic to all
instances.
Rationale: High availability is achieved by distributing resources across multiple
isolated locations. An Application Load Balancer (ALB) can route traffic to instances
in multiple Availability Zones (AZs), and an Auto Scaling group spanning these AZs
ensures that if one AZ fails, the application continues to operate in the others.
,Deploying across Regions (A) adds complexity and cost for disaster recovery, not
high availability. Single AZ deployments (C and D) are not resilient to AZ failures,
which is a primary design consideration for the Associate-level exam.
2. Which AWS service is BEST suited for a stateless, serverless compute
workload that needs to respond to HTTP requests and automatically scale
based on demand?
A. Amazon EC2 instances in an Auto Scaling group
B. AWS Fargate containers with a Network Load Balancer
C. AWS Lambda functions integrated with Amazon API Gateway
D. Amazon ECS with Amazon EBS-backed persistent storage
Correct Answer: C. AWS Lambda functions integrated with Amazon API
Gateway.
Rationale: AWS Lambda is a serverless compute service that runs code in response
to events. Amazon API Gateway acts as a front-door HTTP/REST API, triggering
Lambda functions. This combination is stateless, scales automatically based on
request volume, and requires no server management. EC2 and Fargate are not
serverless in the same way, as they involve managing underlying infrastructure or
containers. EBS-backed storage is for persistent data, which is not a primary
requirement for stateless workloads.
3. A Solutions Architect is designing a system that processes sensitive financial
data. The data must be encrypted at rest and in transit. Which combination of
,services and features would meet these security requirements?
A. Amazon S3 with default encryption enabled, and the application using HTTPS
for all data transfers.
B. AWS Key Management Service (KMS) for managing encryption keys, Amazon
S3 with server-side encryption (SSE-KMS), and TLS for data in transit.
C. AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) for SSL/TLS certificates, and Amazon S3 with
client-side encryption using customer-provided keys.
D. An encrypted Amazon EBS volume for the database, and a Virtual Private
Cloud (VPC) with an internet gateway for secure transit.
Correct Answer: B. AWS Key Management Service (KMS) for managing
encryption keys, Amazon S3 with server-side encryption (SSE-KMS), and TLS
for data in transit.
Rationale: This option provides a comprehensive approach. AWS KMS allows you to
centrally manage and control encryption keys. S3 SSE-KMS encrypts data at rest
with keys stored in KMS. Using TLS (Transport Layer Security) encrypts data while it
is being transmitted over the network. Option A is incomplete (S3 default
encryption is a good step, but using KMS provides more control). Option C involves
client-side encryption but doesn't leverage a managed key service as effectively as
KMS. Option D focuses on encrypting EBS volumes and the database but neglects
encryption for data in transit, which is crucial for financial data.
4. A company's on-premises data center has a 10 Gbps dedicated network
connection to AWS via AWS Direct Connect. They want to ensure that traffic
, destined for AWS stays on this private connection and does not traverse the
public internet. Which configuration step is required to achieve this?
A. Configure a Virtual Private Gateway (VGW) and advertise the on-premises
network routes to AWS over the Direct Connect connection.
B. Configure a public Virtual Interface (VIF) on the Direct Connect connection and
associate it with the VPC.
C. Configure a private Virtual Interface (VIF) on the Direct Connect connection
and associate it with the VPC's Virtual Private Gateway (VGW).
D. Enable route propagation on the VPC's main route table for the internet
gateway.
Correct Answer: C. Configure a private Virtual Interface (VIF) on the Direct
Connect connection and associate it with the VPC's Virtual Private Gateway
(VGW).
Rationale: A private Virtual Interface (VIF) provides a dedicated, private connection
from an on-premises environment to a VPC. This traffic bypasses the public internet
entirely. It is associated with a Virtual Private Gateway (VGW) that is attached to
the VPC. A public VIF (B) is used for accessing public AWS services (like S3) over the
Direct Connect connection, not for private VPC access. Advertising routes to AWS
(A) is part of the BGP process but does not define the type of VIF. Using an internet
gateway (D) routes traffic over the public internet, which defeats the purpose of
using Direct Connect for private connectivity.
5. A web application uses an Application Load Balancer (ALB) to distribute
traffic to a fleet of Amazon EC2 instances in an Auto Scaling group. The
