AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) — Question 1017

A company is launching a new application that requires a structured database to store user profiles, application settings, and transactional data. The database must be scalable with application traffic and must offer backups.

Which solution will meet these requirements MOST cost-effectively?

Answer options

• A. Deploy a self-managed database on Amazon EC2 instances by using open source software. Use Spot Instances for cost optimization. Configure automated backups to Amazon S3.
• B. Use Amazon RDS. Use on-demand capacity mode for the database with General Purpose SSD storage. Configure automatic backups with a retention period of 7 days.
• C. Use Amazon Aurora Serverless for the database. Use serverless capacity scaling. Configure automated backups to Amazon S3.
• D. Deploy a self-managed NoSQL database on Amazon EC2 instances. Use Reserved Instances for cost optimization. Configure automated backups directly to Amazon S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval.

Correct answer: C

Explanation

Amazon Aurora Serverless is the most cost-effective and scalable choice for structured transactional data because it automatically scales database capacity up or down based on actual application demand and includes built-in automated backups to Amazon S3. Option A is incorrect because using Spot Instances for a primary database introduces a high risk of unexpected termination and data loss. Options B and D are less suitable, as NoSQL (Option D) is not ideal for highly structured transactional data, and Amazon RDS on-demand (Option B) does not scale as dynamically or cost-effectively as Aurora Serverless.