AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) — Question 858

A company is implementing a shared storage solution for a media application that the company hosts on AWS. The company needs the ability to use SMB clients to access stored data.

Which solution will meet these requirements with the LEAST administrative overhead?

Answer options

• A. Create an AWS Storage Gateway Volume Gateway. Create a file share that uses the required client protocol. Connect the application server to the file share.
• B. Create an AWS Storage Gateway Tape Gateway. Configure tapes to use Amazon S3. Connect the application server to the Tape Gateway.
• C. Create an Amazon EC2 Windows instance. Install and configure a Windows file share role on the instance. Connect the application server to the file share.
• D. Create an Amazon FSx for Windows File Server file system. Connect the application server to the file system.

Correct answer: D

Explanation

Amazon FSx for Windows File Server is a fully managed service that natively supports the SMB protocol, offering the lowest administrative overhead since AWS handles hardware provisioning, software patching, and backups. In contrast, setting up a Windows file share on an Amazon EC2 instance (Option C) requires ongoing manual management of the OS and storage. AWS Storage Gateway options (Options A and B) are designed for hybrid cloud storage and introduce unnecessary complexity and infrastructure for an application already hosted entirely on AWS.