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AWS Solutions Architect — Associate Exam 2026/2027 | Amazon Web Services |
Complete Review with Questions & Verified Answers 2026/2027
A+
Complete Blueprint Coverage
A+ 5 100%
QUESTIONS VERIFIED CORE DOMAINS COVERED RATIONALES INCLUDED
CATEGORIES
1. Design Resilient Architectures
2. Design High-Performing Architectures
3. Design Secure Applications and Architectures
4. Design Cost-Optimized Architectures
5. Design Sustainable Architectures
STUVIAACTUALEXAM
,1. Design Resilient Architectures
Q1
A company runs a critical three-tier web application on Amazon EC2 instances in a single Availability Zone. The database tier uses a single
Amazon RDS instance. Leadership requires the architecture to survive the loss of an entire Availability Zone with minimal downtime. Which
change provides the highest resilience improvement?
A. Increase the instance size of the single EC2 and RDS resources to maximize vertical capacity.
B. Deploy the application and database across at least two Availability Zones, use Multi-AZ RDS, and place the web and app tiers behind an
Application Load Balancer.
C. Move the entire stack into a single larger EC2 instance to reduce the number of failure points.
D. Replace RDS with a self-managed database on one EC2 instance in the same Availability Zone.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale:
Multi-AZ deployment of both compute and the managed database, combined with load balancing, eliminates the single-AZ single-point-of-failure and enables
automatic failover.
Q2
An application stores user-uploaded images in an Amazon S3 bucket. The business requires that the images remain available even if an
entire AWS Region becomes unavailable for an extended period. Which solution meets the requirement most cost-effectively?
A. Enable S3 Cross-Region Replication to a bucket in a second Region and configure the application to fail over to the secondary bucket.
B. Create multiple copies of each object inside the same bucket using different prefixes.
C. Use S3 Standard-Infrequent Access only, because it automatically replicates across Regions.
D. Store the images on EBS volumes attached to EC2 instances in one Region and snapshot daily.
Correct Answer: A
Rationale:
S3 Cross-Region Replication provides durable copies in a second Region. Combined with application-level or Route 53 failover, it satisfies the multi-Region
availability requirement.
Q3
A Solutions Architect is designing a queue-based decoupling layer between a web front end and a fleet of worker instances. Messages must
not be lost if a worker fails while processing, and failed messages should be inspected later. Which configuration is most appropriate?
A. Use Amazon SNS only, because SNS retains messages indefinitely until all subscribers acknowledge them.
B. Store messages in an Amazon DynamoDB table and poll the table from the workers.
C. Use Amazon SQS with a dead-letter queue and configure a maximum receives threshold before messages move to the DLQ.
D. Use an Amazon Kinesis Data Stream with a single shard and no retention configuration.
Correct Answer: C
Rationale:
SQS standard or FIFO queues combined with a dead-letter queue capture messages that cannot be processed successfully after a configurable number of
attempts, preserving them for analysis.
Q4
A company needs a relational database that can automatically fail over to a standby in another Availability Zone with a typical RPO of zero
and an RTO measured in minutes. Which AWS service and configuration satisfy the requirement?
A. Amazon RDS Single-AZ with a daily snapshot copied to another AZ.
B. Self-managed MySQL on a single EC2 instance with EBS snapshots.
C. Amazon DynamoDB with on-demand capacity only.
D. Amazon RDS Multi-AZ deployment.
Correct Answer: D
Rationale:
RDS Multi-AZ maintains a synchronous standby in a different AZ and performs automatic failover, delivering near-zero RPO and low RTO for the database tier.
, Q5
An application running on Amazon ECS uses an Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL cluster as its data store. The architect must protect the
database against accidental table drops and provide the ability to restore to any point within the last 35 days. Which combination meets the
need?
A. Enable Aurora automated backups with a 35-day retention period and use continuous backup / point-in-time recovery.
B. Disable automated backups to save cost and rely solely on weekly manual snapshots.
C. Copy the database files from the underlying EBS volumes every night.
D. Export the entire database to Amazon S3 using only mysqldump once per month.
Correct Answer: A
Rationale:
Aurora automated backups support point-in-time recovery for up to 35 days, allowing restoration to any second within the retention window and protecting
against logical errors such as accidental drops.
Q6
A global application serves static assets from Amazon S3. Users in distant Regions experience high latency. The architect must improve
performance while keeping the origin bucket in a single Region. Which service should be added?
A. Amazon Route 53 latency-based routing to multiple S3 buckets in every Region.
B. AWS Global Accelerator with EC2 instances as endpoints.
C. Amazon CloudFront with the S3 bucket as the origin.
D. Amazon API Gateway edge-optimized endpoints only.
Correct Answer: C
Rationale:
CloudFront caches static content at edge locations worldwide, dramatically reducing latency for users far from the origin Region while the authoritative objects
remain in one S3 bucket.
Q7
A company wants to ensure that an Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling group maintains the desired capacity even when an Availability Zone
becomes unavailable. Which configuration supports this goal?
A. Launch all instances in a single Availability Zone and rely on the AZ’s inherent durability.
B. Span the Auto Scaling group across multiple Availability Zones and set the minimum capacity appropriately.
C. Disable the Auto Scaling group’s health checks so that unhealthy instances remain in service.
D. Use only Spot Instances without any On-Demand capacity.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale:
An Auto Scaling group that spans multiple AZs can replace instances lost in one AZ by launching replacements in the remaining healthy AZs, preserving overall
capacity.
Q8
An application must process records from an Amazon Kinesis Data Stream with the ability to reprocess data from up to 7 days earlier if a
downstream system fails. Which configuration is required?
A. Use an Amazon SQS standard queue with a 14-day retention period instead of Kinesis.
B. Store every record only in Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive for 7 days.
C. Disable retention so that records are deleted immediately after being read once.
D. Set the Kinesis Data Stream retention period to 7 days (or use extended retention) and design consumers to support checkpoint replay.
Correct Answer: D
Rationale:
Kinesis Data Streams allow retention from 24 hours up to 365 days. Setting retention to at least 7 days and implementing consumer checkpointing enables
replay after failures.
Q9
A Solutions Architect is designing a multi-tier application that must remain available during a Regional impairment. The application uses
Amazon DynamoDB. Which DynamoDB feature provides built-in multi-Region active-active capability?
A. DynamoDB global tables.
B. DynamoDB local secondary indexes only.
C. DynamoDB Streams without any replication configuration.
D. Manual nightly exports of DynamoDB tables to S3 in another Region.
Correct Answer: A
Rationale:
DynamoDB global tables replicate data across multiple Regions automatically, providing multi-Region active-active access and improving both availability and
latency for global workloads.
AWS Solutions Architect — Associate Exam 2026/2027 | Amazon ... Page 3
AWS Solutions Architect — Associate Exam 2026/2027 | Amazon Web Services |
Complete Review with Questions & Verified Answers 2026/2027
A+
Complete Blueprint Coverage
A+ 5 100%
QUESTIONS VERIFIED CORE DOMAINS COVERED RATIONALES INCLUDED
CATEGORIES
1. Design Resilient Architectures
2. Design High-Performing Architectures
3. Design Secure Applications and Architectures
4. Design Cost-Optimized Architectures
5. Design Sustainable Architectures
STUVIAACTUALEXAM
,1. Design Resilient Architectures
Q1
A company runs a critical three-tier web application on Amazon EC2 instances in a single Availability Zone. The database tier uses a single
Amazon RDS instance. Leadership requires the architecture to survive the loss of an entire Availability Zone with minimal downtime. Which
change provides the highest resilience improvement?
A. Increase the instance size of the single EC2 and RDS resources to maximize vertical capacity.
B. Deploy the application and database across at least two Availability Zones, use Multi-AZ RDS, and place the web and app tiers behind an
Application Load Balancer.
C. Move the entire stack into a single larger EC2 instance to reduce the number of failure points.
D. Replace RDS with a self-managed database on one EC2 instance in the same Availability Zone.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale:
Multi-AZ deployment of both compute and the managed database, combined with load balancing, eliminates the single-AZ single-point-of-failure and enables
automatic failover.
Q2
An application stores user-uploaded images in an Amazon S3 bucket. The business requires that the images remain available even if an
entire AWS Region becomes unavailable for an extended period. Which solution meets the requirement most cost-effectively?
A. Enable S3 Cross-Region Replication to a bucket in a second Region and configure the application to fail over to the secondary bucket.
B. Create multiple copies of each object inside the same bucket using different prefixes.
C. Use S3 Standard-Infrequent Access only, because it automatically replicates across Regions.
D. Store the images on EBS volumes attached to EC2 instances in one Region and snapshot daily.
Correct Answer: A
Rationale:
S3 Cross-Region Replication provides durable copies in a second Region. Combined with application-level or Route 53 failover, it satisfies the multi-Region
availability requirement.
Q3
A Solutions Architect is designing a queue-based decoupling layer between a web front end and a fleet of worker instances. Messages must
not be lost if a worker fails while processing, and failed messages should be inspected later. Which configuration is most appropriate?
A. Use Amazon SNS only, because SNS retains messages indefinitely until all subscribers acknowledge them.
B. Store messages in an Amazon DynamoDB table and poll the table from the workers.
C. Use Amazon SQS with a dead-letter queue and configure a maximum receives threshold before messages move to the DLQ.
D. Use an Amazon Kinesis Data Stream with a single shard and no retention configuration.
Correct Answer: C
Rationale:
SQS standard or FIFO queues combined with a dead-letter queue capture messages that cannot be processed successfully after a configurable number of
attempts, preserving them for analysis.
Q4
A company needs a relational database that can automatically fail over to a standby in another Availability Zone with a typical RPO of zero
and an RTO measured in minutes. Which AWS service and configuration satisfy the requirement?
A. Amazon RDS Single-AZ with a daily snapshot copied to another AZ.
B. Self-managed MySQL on a single EC2 instance with EBS snapshots.
C. Amazon DynamoDB with on-demand capacity only.
D. Amazon RDS Multi-AZ deployment.
Correct Answer: D
Rationale:
RDS Multi-AZ maintains a synchronous standby in a different AZ and performs automatic failover, delivering near-zero RPO and low RTO for the database tier.
, Q5
An application running on Amazon ECS uses an Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL cluster as its data store. The architect must protect the
database against accidental table drops and provide the ability to restore to any point within the last 35 days. Which combination meets the
need?
A. Enable Aurora automated backups with a 35-day retention period and use continuous backup / point-in-time recovery.
B. Disable automated backups to save cost and rely solely on weekly manual snapshots.
C. Copy the database files from the underlying EBS volumes every night.
D. Export the entire database to Amazon S3 using only mysqldump once per month.
Correct Answer: A
Rationale:
Aurora automated backups support point-in-time recovery for up to 35 days, allowing restoration to any second within the retention window and protecting
against logical errors such as accidental drops.
Q6
A global application serves static assets from Amazon S3. Users in distant Regions experience high latency. The architect must improve
performance while keeping the origin bucket in a single Region. Which service should be added?
A. Amazon Route 53 latency-based routing to multiple S3 buckets in every Region.
B. AWS Global Accelerator with EC2 instances as endpoints.
C. Amazon CloudFront with the S3 bucket as the origin.
D. Amazon API Gateway edge-optimized endpoints only.
Correct Answer: C
Rationale:
CloudFront caches static content at edge locations worldwide, dramatically reducing latency for users far from the origin Region while the authoritative objects
remain in one S3 bucket.
Q7
A company wants to ensure that an Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling group maintains the desired capacity even when an Availability Zone
becomes unavailable. Which configuration supports this goal?
A. Launch all instances in a single Availability Zone and rely on the AZ’s inherent durability.
B. Span the Auto Scaling group across multiple Availability Zones and set the minimum capacity appropriately.
C. Disable the Auto Scaling group’s health checks so that unhealthy instances remain in service.
D. Use only Spot Instances without any On-Demand capacity.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale:
An Auto Scaling group that spans multiple AZs can replace instances lost in one AZ by launching replacements in the remaining healthy AZs, preserving overall
capacity.
Q8
An application must process records from an Amazon Kinesis Data Stream with the ability to reprocess data from up to 7 days earlier if a
downstream system fails. Which configuration is required?
A. Use an Amazon SQS standard queue with a 14-day retention period instead of Kinesis.
B. Store every record only in Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive for 7 days.
C. Disable retention so that records are deleted immediately after being read once.
D. Set the Kinesis Data Stream retention period to 7 days (or use extended retention) and design consumers to support checkpoint replay.
Correct Answer: D
Rationale:
Kinesis Data Streams allow retention from 24 hours up to 365 days. Setting retention to at least 7 days and implementing consumer checkpointing enables
replay after failures.
Q9
A Solutions Architect is designing a multi-tier application that must remain available during a Regional impairment. The application uses
Amazon DynamoDB. Which DynamoDB feature provides built-in multi-Region active-active capability?
A. DynamoDB global tables.
B. DynamoDB local secondary indexes only.
C. DynamoDB Streams without any replication configuration.
D. Manual nightly exports of DynamoDB tables to S3 in another Region.
Correct Answer: A
Rationale:
DynamoDB global tables replicate data across multiple Regions automatically, providing multi-Region active-active access and improving both availability and
latency for global workloads.
AWS Solutions Architect — Associate Exam 2026/2027 | Amazon ... Page 3
