Preparing for the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate exam requires a solid understanding of AWS architectural principles and services. If you’re just starting your preparation, this practice test is designed to cover fundamental AWS concepts. Here are 25 multiple-choice questions to help you gauge your foundational knowledge.
1. Which AWS service can be used to deploy a scalable and fault-tolerant application?
Answer:
Explanation:
AWS Elastic Beanstalk automatically handles deployment details such as capacity provisioning, load balancing, and application health monitoring.
2. Which service offers a managed virtual network in the cloud?
Answer:
Explanation:
Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) allows you to provision a private section of the AWS Cloud where you can run resources in a virtual network.
3. What AWS service provides scalable DNS and domain name registration?
Answer:
Explanation:
Amazon Route 53 is a scalable and highly available Domain Name System (DNS) web service. It also provides domain name registration.
4. Which AWS service allows you to connect your on-premises data center to the AWS Cloud?
Answer:
Explanation:
AWS Direct Connect provides a dedicated network connection from on-premises to AWS.
5. Which storage service is optimized for archiving and backup purposes due to its low cost?
Answer:
Explanation:
Amazon Glacier is a low-cost storage service optimized for data archiving and backup.
6. Which AWS service provides a managed MySQL and PostgreSQL compatible relational database?
Answer:
Explanation:
Amazon RDS (Relational Database Service) provides several instance types and the option to use General Purpose (SSD), Provisioned IOPS (SSD), or Magnetic storage.
7. Which AWS service allows you to analyze vast amounts of data and run queries against petabytes of data in seconds?
Answer:
Explanation:
Amazon Athena allows users to analyze large datasets in S3 using standard SQL.
8. For applications requiring a NoSQL database with milliseconds latency, which AWS service would you choose?
Answer:
Explanation:
Amazon DynamoDB is a managed NoSQL database service that supports both document and key-value data structures.
9. Which service would you use to distribute incoming application traffic across multiple targets, such as EC2 instances?
Answer:
Explanation:
ELB automatically distributes incoming application traffic across multiple targets.
10. Which AWS service can be used to create and manage cryptographic keys and control their use across a wide range of AWS services and in your applications?
Answer:
Explanation:
AWS KMS is a managed service that makes it easy for you to create and manage cryptographic keys and control their use.
11. Which AWS service is designed to provide cost optimization recommendations and visualize your AWS cost and usage?
Answer:
Explanation:
AWS Cost Explorer allows users to visualize, understand, and manage AWS costs and usage over time.
12. Which of the following services is used to migrate databases to AWS quickly and securely?
Answer:
Explanation:
AWS DMS helps you migrate databases to AWS quickly and securely. It supports both homogenous and heterogeneous migrations.
13. Which AWS service is used to orchestrate services like EC2, S3, and RDS to create and manage a collection of related AWS resources?
Answer:
Explanation:
AWS CloudFormation provides a common language to model and provision AWS and third-party application resources in your cloud environment.
14. Which service is designed to automate code deployments to any instance, including Amazon EC2 instances and on-premises servers?
Answer:
Explanation:
AWS CodeDeploy automates code deployments to various compute services including Amazon EC2, AWS Fargate, AWS Lambda, and your on-premises servers.
15. Which AWS service provides monitoring and operational data in the form of logs about your AWS resources and applications?
Answer:
Explanation:
Amazon CloudWatch provides data and actionable insights for AWS, hybrid, and on-premises applications and infrastructure resources.
16. Which of the following is a fully managed service that makes it easy to run Apache Kafka to process streaming data?
Answer:
Explanation:
Amazon MSK is a fully managed service that helps you build and run applications built on Apache Kafka.
17. What service would you use to manage SSH access to your EC2 instances based on user roles?
Answer:
Explanation:
AWS Session Manager allows you to manage SSH and RDP access to your instances, without the need to open inbound ports or manage keys.
18. What AWS service provides a firewall to protect your web applications?
Answer:
Explanation:
AWS WAF (Web Application Firewall) helps protect web applications from common web exploits.
19. Which AWS service uses machine learning to detect and prioritize security and compliance issues?
Answer:
Explanation:
AWS Macie uses machine learning to automatically discover, classify, and protect sensitive data like personally identifiable information (PII).
20. Which service helps automate database provisioning, backups, software patching, and monitoring of operational metrics for PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, Oracle, and Microsoft SQL Server?
Answer:
Explanation:
Amazon RDS (Relational Database Service) manages routine database tasks, allowing you to focus on your applications.
21. Which AWS service offers a petabyte-scale data transport solution using secure appliances to transfer large amounts of data into and out of the AWS Cloud?
Answer:
Explanation:
AWS Snowball is a data transport solution that accelerates moving terabytes to petabytes of data into and out of AWS using storage appliances designed for secure data transfer.
22. Which of the following AWS services can be used for content delivery and to speed up the distribution of files to end-users across the globe?
Answer:
Explanation:
Amazon CloudFront is a content delivery network (CDN) service that securely delivers data, videos, applications, and APIs to customers globally.
23. Which AWS service is a serverless compute service that lets you run code without provisioning or managing servers, and automatically scales from a few requests per day to thousands per second?
Answer:
Explanation:
AWS Lambda lets you run code without thinking about servers, and you only pay for the compute time you consume.
24. For a hybrid cloud architecture, which AWS service allows cached datasets to be utilized in on-premises environments to reduce data retrieval times from Amazon S3?
Answer:
Explanation:
AWS Storage Gateway's File Gateway configuration enables you to integrate your on-premises environment with the scalable, durable storage in Amazon S3.
25. Which AWS service helps you visualize and understand your AWS costs and usage, and provides recommendations that can help you save costs?
Answer:
Explanation:
AWS Cost Explorer provides interactive, detailed visualizations to help you understand where your costs are coming from and forecast future costs.