SOA-C03 - Reliability and Business Continuity - Section 2.1

Configure EC2 Auto Scaling groups and scaling policies to match compute capacity to demand using launch templates and health checks.

Configure EC2 Auto Scaling groups with launch templates and health checks, and choose between target tracking scaling, step scaling, and scheduled scaling policies to match capacity to demand. Recognise when scheduled scaling is preferable to predictive scaling for known traffic patterns.

EC2 Auto ScalingTarget tracking scalingScheduled scalingLaunch templates

Practice question for this objective

Free sampleReliability and Business Continuitymedium

A team is creating a new EC2 Auto Scaling group for a web tier behind an Application Load Balancer. They need the group's instance specification to support a mix of instance types together with both On-Demand and Spot capacity, and they want to publish updated specifications over time without recreating the group. They also want capacity to track demand by holding a steady number of requests per instance as traffic rises and falls, without authoring individual capacity steps. Which two choices together meet these requirements? (Select TWO.)

  • AHave the Auto Scaling group reference a launch template, which supports mixed instance types across On-Demand and Spot purchasing and is published as new numbered versions. Correct
  • BAttach a target tracking scaling policy that keeps the ALB request count per target at a chosen value so the group sizes itself toward that set point automatically. Correct
  • CHave the Auto Scaling group reference a launch configuration, then edit it whenever the instance specification needs to change for the running group.
  • DAttach a step scaling policy with several breach bands on request count so each band applies a different capacity adjustment as the metric rises.
  • EConfigure a scheduled scaling action that raises the desired capacity at fixed times of day, on a recurring cron expression, to follow the expected daily traffic curve.
Pair a versioned launch template for mixed On-Demand and Spot capacity with a target tracking policy on requests per target to match capacity to demand with minimal tuning. Only a launch template supports a mixed instances policy combining On-Demand and Spot across several instance types and can be published as new versions the group adopts in place, which is why the launch configuration option is wrong. Target tracking on request count per target then holds the chosen requests-per-instance level automatically, so the two together satisfy both the specification and the demand-matching goals. Step scaling and scheduled scaling each maintain capacity, but step scaling needs hand-authored bands and scheduled scaling follows a timetable rather than live load, so neither meets the stated requirement.

Why A is correct: Launch templates support a mixed instances policy across On-Demand and Spot and are versioned, so the group can adopt new specifications without being rebuilt.

Why B is correct: Target tracking on the ALBRequestCountPerTarget metric maintains a steady requests-per-instance figure and adjusts capacity without hand-authored steps.

Why C is wrong: A launch configuration is immutable and cannot mix instance types or purchase options, so it fails both the mixed-capacity and the versioning requirement.

Why D is wrong: Step scaling does maintain capacity, but it forces the team to author the individual adjustment steps the requirement says they want to avoid.

Why E is wrong: Scheduled scaling reacts to the clock, not to live request volume, so it cannot hold a steady requests-per-instance figure as demand varies.

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