Exam AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate SAA-C02 topic 1 question 14 discussion

"million transactions per second per server" Answer is B. "https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/ebs-volume-types.html" https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/storage-optimized-instances.html

B is correct. -from aws docs: B is correct. EC2 instance store supports millions transaction/sec and better throughput. Also in question it is clearly mentioned due to data loss risk multiple instances are deployed -EC2 instance store supports millions transaction/sec and better throughput. -Also in question it is clearly mentioned that multiple instances are deployed for data store incase of loss of instances. -EBS volume need separate intervention to delete/attach after a ec2 ​instance is loss/terminate

Elastic Block STore

The answer is B in my opinion "database requires block storage with latency and throughput to support several million transactions" Instance store full-fills this requirement.

Answer -B, Clue - Instance store has max latency and only downside is that data is prone to lose when instance stops, But they have already mentioned that application can withstand loss of an instance, So definitely B.

A: EBS Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS) Amazon EBS provides block-level storage volumes that can be attached to EC2 instances. It offers low-latency performance and high-throughput capabilities, making it well-suited for databases that require fast and reliable storage. Additionally, EBS volumes can be provisioned with different performance characteristics (e.g., General Purpose SSD, Provisioned IOPS SSD, or io2 volumes) to meet specific workload requirements. This flexibility allows you to tailor the storage solution to the performance needs of your distributed database

Durability: EBS offers multiple options for data redundancy, like mirroring and RAID, ensuring data availability even if an instance fails. Performance: EBS provides various volume types, including high-performance SSD options, suitable for supporting millions of transactions per second. Scalability: EBS volumes can be easily scaled up or down to meet changing storage needs of the database.

ChatGPT thinks the answer is A as instance store cannit withstand instance failure

I will go with A because "A solutions architect is deploying a distributed database on multiple Amazon EC2 instances" and distributed DB will be EBS not instance store of an ec2. 2 thing with EBS as well we can have sub-millisecond IOPS so I think that solves the 2 requirement as well.

The appropriate storage solution for the given scenario would be: B. Amazon EC2 instance store Amazon EC2 instance store provides block-level storage that is directly attached to the EC2 instance. It offers low-latency and high-throughput storage, which is suitable for high-performance applications that require fast access to data. In this case, since the distributed database requires block storage with low latency and high throughput to support several million transactions per second per server, Amazon EC2 instance store would be the most suitable option.

The "withstand the loss of an instance" is a distraction because it's not asking us to consider this. If it was than EBS would be right, but as it is not Instance store is correct

The fastest storage for ec2 instance

Instance store, also known as ephemeral storage, is directly attached to the host computer and provides temporary block-level storage for instances. However, instance store is not as reliable and durable as EBS, as it can be lost in the event of instance failure or termination. It is not recommended for use as the primary storage for a distributed database that requires high levels of performance and durability. On the other hand, EBS provides reliable and durable block-level storage that is separate from the underlying host computer. EBS volumes can be snapshotted and backed up, and the data stored in EBS volumes is not lost in the event of an instance failure or termination. In addition, EBS Provisioned IOPS volumes can provide low latency and high throughput disk performance specifically designed to meet the demands of transactional workloads. Therefore, for the requirements described in the question, EBS Provisioned IOPS volumes are the recommended storage solution.

To anyone reading this comment/question: we are not asked about the data persistence in this question as it has been answered that is has been solved by using multiple instances. The real task is to solve the high throughput problem, which can be only achieved by using the instance store!

Instance store volumes persist only for the life of the instance. When you stop, hibernate, or terminate an instance, the applications and data in its instance store volumes are erased。

EBS, A cuz it can withstand instance loss

the question says"The database requires block storage with latency and throughput to support several million transactions per second per server". so A or B are possible options. But the application is a distributed database; but definition will require persistence which B doesn't provide as instance store in ephemeral