AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional — Question 428

A company is storing data on premises on a Windows file server. The company produces 5 GB of new data daily.
The company migrated part of its Windows-based workload to AWS and needs the data to be available on a file system in the cloud. The company already has established an AWS Direct Connect connection between the on-premises network and AWS.
Which data migration strategy should the company use?

Answer options

• A. Use the file gateway option in AWS Storage Gateway to replace the existing Windows file server, and point the existing file share to the new file gateway
• B. Use AWS DataSync to schedule a daily task to replicate data between the on-premises Windows file server and Amazon FSx
• C. Use AWS Data Pipeline to schedule a daily task to replicate data between the on-premises Windows file server and Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS)
• D. Use AWS DataSync to schedule a daily task to replicate data between the on-premises Windows file server and Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS)

Correct answer: B

Explanation

Amazon FSx (specifically FSx for Windows File Server) is the optimal destination because it natively supports the SMB protocol required by Windows-based workloads. AWS DataSync is designed to automate and accelerate data transfers between on-premises storage and AWS over Direct Connect. Amazon EFS is incorrect because it uses the NFS protocol, which is not natively compatible with Windows file systems.