AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner / Question #873 of 719

Question #873

Which of the following is a recommended design principle for AWS Cloud architecture?

A

Prioritize vertical scaling over horizontal scaling.

B

Use tightly integrated components to minimize latency.

C

Implement a single point of failure for simplicity.

D

Design systems to scale horizontally using modular components.

Explanation

Answer D is correct because horizontal scaling (adding more instances) is a core AWS best practice for handling variable workloads and improving fault tolerance. Modular components enable independent scaling and updates.

Why other options are incorrect:
- A: Vertical scaling (upgrading instance size) is limited by hardware constraints and causes downtime, unlike horizontal scaling.
- B: Tightly integrated components create dependencies and reduce system resilience, whereas AWS advocates loose coupling.
- C: Single points of failure violate reliability principles; AWS requires multi-AZ deployments and redundancy.

Key Points:
1. Horizontal scaling > vertical scaling in cloud architectures.
2. Loose coupling improves system resilience.
3. Eliminate single points of failure for reliability.
4. Modularity enables independent scaling and maintenance.

Answer

The correct answer is: D