AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) — Question 536

A retail company uses a regional Amazon API Gateway API for its public REST APIs. The API Gateway endpoint is a custom domain name that points to an Amazon Route 53 alias record. A solutions architect needs to create a solution that has minimal effects on customers and minimal data loss to release the new version of APIs.

Which solution will meet these requirements?

Answer options

• A. Create a canary release deployment stage for API Gateway. Deploy the latest API version. Point an appropriate percentage of traffic to the canary stage. After API verification, promote the canary stage to the production stage.
• B. Create a new API Gateway endpoint with a new version of the API in OpenAPI YAML file format. Use the import-to-update operation in merge mode into the API in API Gateway. Deploy the new version of the API to the production stage.
• C. Create a new API Gateway endpoint with a new version of the API in OpenAPI JSON file format. Use the import-to-update operation in overwrite mode into the API in API Gateway. Deploy the new version of the API to the production stage.
• D. Create a new API Gateway endpoint with new versions of the API definitions. Create a custom domain name for the new API Gateway API. Point the Route 53 alias record to the new API Gateway API custom domain name.

Correct answer: A

Explanation

A canary release deployment stage in Amazon API Gateway allows for a controlled, gradual rollout by routing a small fraction of live traffic to the new API version for validation. This approach minimizes user impact and potential data loss because any issues can be quickly mitigated by rolling back traffic before a full production promotion. Other methods, such as overwriting the API or shifting DNS records globally, carry a much higher risk of immediate, widespread service disruption.