1
Q
Which EC2 pricing model allows you to request spare capacity at up to 90% off but can be reclaimed by AWS with a 2-minute warning?
A
Spot Instances
2
Q
A company has a steady-state workload that must run 24/7 for the next 3 years. Which pricing model offers the best balance of deep discount and capacity guarantee?
A
Standard Reserved Instances (Zonal)
3
Q
Which billing option is best for a developer who needs to spin up a server for 2 hours to test a new piece of code?
A
On-Demand
4
Q
True or False: Savings Plans apply discounts to EC2 usage as well as AWS Fargate and AWS Lambda.
A
t
5
Q
Which EC2 pricing model is required if a software license is tied to physical cores or sockets?
A
Dedicated Hosts
6
Q
An organization wants a discount on compute spend but needs the flexibility to switch between EC2 and Fargate across different regions. Which should they choose?
A
Compute Savings Plans
7
Q
In the context of EC2 billing, what is the ‘All Upfront’ option associated with?
A
Reserved Instances (Payment Options)
8
Q
What is the billing granularity for a Windows EC2 instance?
A
Per hour
9
Q
Which term describes the ability of a system to grow over the long term to accommodate more users?
A
Scalability
10
Q
Which term describes the ability of a system to automatically grow AND shrink in real-time based on demand?
A
Elasticity
11
Q
Upgrading an instance from a ‘t3.micro’ to an ‘m5.large’ is an example of what type of scaling?
A
Vertical Scaling (Scaling Up)
12
Q
Adding 10 more identical EC2 instances to a fleet to handle a traffic surge is an example of what type of scaling?
A
Horizontal Scaling (Scaling Out)
13
Q
What is the primary disadvantage of Vertical Scaling?
A
It often requires downtime and has a physical upper limit.
14
Q
Which AWS service is used to monitor metrics like CPU utilization to trigger an Auto Scaling event?
A
Amazon CloudWatch
15
Q
In an Auto Scaling Group, what setting defines the absolute minimum number of instances that must be running at all times?
A
Minimum Capacity
16
Q
Which Auto Scaling feature uses Machine Learning to adjust capacity based on historical traffic patterns?
A
Predictive Scaling
17
Q
What is the primary benefit of deploying EC2 instances across multiple Availability Zones (AZs)?
A
High Availability / Fault Tolerance
18
Q
In an Auto Scaling Group, if an instance fails a health check, what action does the ASG take?
A
It terminates the unhealthy instance and launches a new one.
19
Q
Which Auto Scaling setting ensures you do not exceed your company’s budget during a traffic spike?
A
Maximum Capacity
20
Q
What is the mechanism that allows a Spot Instance to gracefully save its state before being reclaimed?
A
Two-minute Interruption Notice
21
Q
What is the foundational definition of cloud computing?
A
On-demand delivery of IT resources over the internet with pay-as-you-go pricing.
22
Q
In the ‘Coffee Shop’ analogy, which component represents the ‘Client’?
A
The customer (Alan) making the request.
23
Q
In the client-server model, what are the three essential steps of an interaction?
A
Request, Validation, and Response.
24
Q
Which property of cloud computing ensures that you can grow or shrink resource capacity nearly over the network?
A
Elasticity
25
What is the primary economic difference between the AWS model and the traditional on-premises model?
Shifting from upfront capital expenditure (CapEx) to variable operating expenditure (OpEx).
26
In the coffee shop analogy, what technical component does the 'Menu' represent?
An API (Application Programming Interface) or Service Capability.
27
True or False: The AWS Cloud is only intended for large scale enterprises and government agencies.
False (It serves startups, researchers, and individuals alike).
28
Which term describes the practice of buying enough hardware to handle the highest possible traffic, even if that traffic only occurs once a year?
Provisioning for peak capacity (or Overprovisioning).
29
What happens to your billing the moment you 'release' or terminate an AWS resource?
The metered billing stops immediately.
30
In the client-server model, who is responsible for the 'execution' of the work (e.g., making the coffee)?
The Server
31
Which of the following is NOT a non-negotiable property of cloud computing: A) On-demand access B) Physical ownership of hardware C) Metered billing D) Network accessibility
B) Physical ownership of hardware
32
What is the 'philosophical shift' regarding cost that AWS enables for businesses?
Pay only for what you use.
33
Why does AWS emphasize 'Agility' as a benefit of cloud computing?
Because resources can be provisioned in minutes rather than weeks, allowing for faster experimentation.
34
Which infrastructure model is characterized by slow, manual scaling and wasted capital due to idle systems?
The Traditional (On-Premises) Model.
35
If a browser sends a request to an EC2 instance, which one acts as the 'Client'?
The browser.
36
What is the term for 'small primitives' or building blocks being combined to create complex systems?
Composable Architecture (or Composable Systems).
37
AWS provides 'planetary scale' infrastructure. What does this mean for a developer in terms of capacity?
The developer does not have to worry about the underlying physical capacity constraints of the data center.
38
In the staffing analogy, what does 'sending baristas home' represent in AWS terms?
Scaling in (or deprovisioning resources) to save costs.
39
Which concept explains why a startup can use the same high-powered machine learning tools as a massive corporation?
Democratization of technology through on-demand access.
40
What is the main goal of the 'layered learning' approach used in this course?
To ensure simple ideas compound into an understanding of complex systems.
41
What was the primary driver for Amazon to develop the internal tools that eventually became AWS?
The need to solve the 'Scaling Crisis' caused by rapid ecommerce growth.
42
True or False: AWS was originally conceived as a public product for external customers.
False (It began as a set of internal standardized tools and abstractions).
43
Which AWS service, launched in 2004, was the first public infrastructure service designed to help decouple applications?
Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS)
44
According to the formal definition, cloud computing is the ________ delivery of IT resources over the internet.
On-demand
45
Which 2006 service launch allowed customers to use virtual compute capacity without owning physical servers?
Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud)
46
What is the term for the physical facility (building, cooling, power) where cloud hardware actually resides?
Data Center
47
Which property of the cloud allows a user to stop paying for 2,000 TB of storage immediately upon deleting the data?
Pay-as-you-go pricing (or Metered Billing)
48
What do we call a deployment model where applications run entirely in the cloud, having been either migrated or built there?
Cloud-based deployment
49
A company keeps sensitive data in its own data center but uses AWS for burst capacity. Which deployment model is this?
Hybrid Deployment
50
What is the main disadvantage of a traditional On-Premises deployment compared to the Cloud?
It lacks elasticity and requires significant upfront capital investment.
51
How does the text describe the shift in IT spending enabled by AWS?
Shifting from Capital Expense (CapEx) to Operational Expense (OpEx).
52
What does it mean for the cloud to be 'location-agnostic'?
Resources are accessed remotely over the internet from anywhere, regardless of physical location.
53
Which 2006 service launch provided 'object storage' without requiring the user to manage physical disks?
Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service)
54
True or False: Multi-cloud deployments are considered a form of hybrid deployment.
t
55
What was the 'real bottleneck' Amazon engineers discovered before they built AWS?
How infrastructure was managed (manual work vs. automation).
56
In the formal definition, what are the three key pillars of cloud computing?
On-demand delivery, over the internet, pay-as-you-go pricing.
57
Why did startups adopt AWS before large enterprises?
AWS allowed them to experiment and scale without massive upfront hardware costs.
58
What is 'Legacy IT with modern tooling' often a description of?
On-premises deployment using virtualization.
59
Which deployment model is used when regulatory requirements prevent certain data from leaving a company's physical building?
Hybrid (or On-premises)
60
Finish the quote: 'AWS did not replace data centers—it ________ them.'
Industrialized
61
According to the lecture, what is the 'deeper, more important benefit' of AWS global footprint beyond just geographic reach?
Availability (The ability of systems to remain operational despite failures).
62
Which engineering mindset does AWS adopt regarding system components?
Failure is expected/inevitable (not an exception).
63
What is the term for a geographic area that is physically separate from others and contains multiple Availability Zones?
AWS Region
64
What is the minimum number of Availability Zones (AZs) typically found in an AWS Region?
Three
65
What does an Availability Zone (AZ) consist of physically?
One or more discrete data centers with redundant power, networking, and connectivity.
66
Which concept describes designing systems so they remain accessible with minimal downtime even when individual components fail?
High Availability
67
Which concept describes the ability of a system to continue operating correctly even when multiple components fail?
Fault Tolerance
68
Why are Availability Zones in the same Region physically separated by a meaningful distance?
To prevent a single local disaster (like a flood or fire) from affecting more than one AZ.
69
True or False: Distributing resources across multiple Availability Zones is done automatically by AWS for all services by default.
False (It is a design decision the architect must make).
70
If an application requires protection against a large-scale natural disaster affecting an entire state, which strategy should be used?
Multi-Region deployment
71
In the coffee shop analogy, what represents a 'High Availability' design?
Operating as a chain with multiple locations so customers can reroute if one shop closes.
72
What is the primary purpose of 'Independent Failure Domains' in cloud architecture?
To ensure that a failure in one component or zone does not cascade to others.
73
Which term refers to the geographic area where a failure's impact is contained?
Blast Radius
74
What is the highest-level boundary in the AWS Global Infrastructure hierarchy?
AWS Region
75
True or False: High Availability focuses on the absolute absence of failure.
False (It focuses on the availability of service despite failures).
76
What are the three layers of AWS redundancy mentioned in the lecture?
Multiple data centers per AZ; Multiple AZs per Region; Multiple Regions globally.
77
A system that can automatically route traffic away from a failed data center to a functional one is demonstrating which property?
High Availability
78
What is the physical reality behind an 'Availability Zone'?
One or more data centers.
79
What does AWS recommend as a best practice to protect an application from a single point of failure within a Region?
Deploy resources across multiple Availability Zones.
80
In the context of AWS, what does 'Geographic Isolation' specifically help protect against?
Regional disasters and wide-area outages.
81
According to the Shared Responsibility Model, who is responsible for 'Security OF the Cloud'?
AWS
82
According to the Shared Responsibility Model, who is responsible for 'Security IN the Cloud'?
The Customer
83
Which party is responsible for the physical security of data center buildings, including cameras and guards?
AWS
84
If you launch an Amazon EC2 instance, who is responsible for patching the guest operating system (e.g., Windows or Linux)?
The Customer
85
Who is responsible for managing and configuring the hypervisor and virtualization layer?
AWS
86
A company accidentally leaves an S3 bucket public, leading to a data leak. Under the model, who is responsible for this misconfiguration?
The Customer
87
Who is responsible for the environmental protections (cooling and fire suppression) within a data center?
AWS
88
True or False: AWS has a 'backdoor' to log into your EC2 instances to patch them for you.
False (AWS does not have access to the guest OS)
89
Who is responsible for deciding which users have access to specific data stored in the cloud?
The Customer
90
Which party is responsible for protecting the core networking infrastructure and inter-region connectivity?
AWS
91
The 'House Analogy' describes AWS as the 'Builder' and the Customer as the 'Homeowner.' What is the Homeowner's primary responsibility?
Locking the doors and protecting valuables inside (securing usage).
92
Who is responsible for client-side encryption of data before it is uploaded to AWS?
The Customer
93
As a customer moves from Infrastructure (EC2) to Managed Services (like RDS), does AWS take on MORE or LESS responsibility?
MORE responsibility
94
Who is responsible for the disposal of physical disks and hardware at the end of their lifecycle?
AWS
95
A customer configures a firewall (Security Group) for their web server. Who is responsible for the 'configuration' of that firewall?
The Customer
96
Who ensures that one customer's virtual machine cannot see or interfere with another customer's virtual machine on the same hardware?
AWS (through Hypervisor isolation)
97
Under the Shared Responsibility Model, 'Identity and Access Management' (IAM) falls under whose domain?
The Customer
98
Who is responsible for 'Server-side Encryption' configuration (choosing to turn it on for a service)?
Shared (AWS provides the tool; Customer chooses to enable it).
99
Which component of the model covers 'Hardware, Software, Networking, and Facilities'?
AWS Responsibilities (Security of the Cloud)
100
Why is the model called 'Shared' rather than 'Split'?
Because responsibilities (like OS patching or encryption) can shift depending on which specific service is being used.
101
What does the 'EC' in Amazon EC2 stand for?
Elastic Compute
102
What is the technical term for an EC2 instance running in AWS data centers?
Virtual Machine (VM)
103
Which software layer is responsible for creating VMs and enforcing isolation between different customers on the same physical host?
Hypervisor
104
What is the term for multiple customers sharing the same physical hardware in a cloud environment?
Multi-tenancy
105
What serves as the 'blueprint' for an EC2 instance, containing the OS and preinstalled software?
Amazon Machine Image (AMI)
106
True or False: Stopped or terminated EC2 instances continue to incur compute charges.
107
Moving an application from a 'Small' instance type to a 'Large' instance type to increase RAM is an example of what?
Vertical Scaling
108
Who is responsible for patching the guest operating system (Linux or Windows) on an EC2 instance?
The Customer
109
Which protocol is typically used to securely connect to a Linux EC2 instance?
SSH (Secure Shell)
110
Which protocol is typically used to connect to a Windows EC2 instance?
RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol)
111
Which component of an instance type selection determines the processing power and RAM?
Instance Type
112
What is the primary benefit of EC2 compared to on-premises servers regarding hardware delivery?
On-demand provisioning (Minutes vs. Weeks)
113
True or False: AWS has a 'backdoor' to log into your EC2 instance if you lose your keys.
False
114
What is the first major choice an architect makes when launching an EC2 instance to define the environment?
The Operating System (OS)
115
If you need a server for a temporary experiment and then delete it, what economic model are you using?
Pay-for-what-you-use (Metered Billing)
116
In the coffee shop analogy, which role represents the EC2 'Server'?
The Employee (Barista)
117
What term describes the ability to resize an EC2 instance after it has been launched?
Elasticity (or Vertical Scaling)
118
Where are AMIs sourced from?
AWS Official, Marketplace, or Custom-built.
119
Which service allows for connecting to an EC2 instance without needing direct network access (like SSH)?
AWS Systems Manager
120
Why is EC2 considered 'raw compute' rather than a 'managed service'?
The user has full control and responsibility over the OS and software stack.
AWS Cloud Practitioner Essentials
flashcards
Decks in class (1)
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