Question #1036
A media streaming company hosts its service on a fleet of Linux Amazon EC2 instances in an Auto Scaling group. The service uses a configuration file stored in an Amazon S3 bucket with S3 Standard storage. A third-party provider updates this configuration file every 1-15 minutes, and the file contains thousands of settings. The configuration file is downloaded to each EC2 instance during launch. However, the EC2 instances occasionally use outdated configurations, leading to playback errors for users. Which solution will resolve this problem MOST cost-effectively?
Create an AWS Lambda function to update an Amazon DynamoDB table with new configurations each time the file is updated. Modify the streaming service to query DynamoDB for the latest configurations.
Create an AWS Lambda function to synchronize the configuration file to an Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) file share whenever the file is updated. Update the streaming service to read the configuration file directly from the EFS share.
Install Mountpoint for Amazon S3 on the EC2 instances' AMI. Configure Mountpoint for Amazon S3 to mount the S3 bucket containing the configuration file. Update the streaming service to access the file via the mount point.
Create an Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS) volume with Multi-Attach enabled. Attach the volume to all EC2 instances and configure new instances to update the configuration file on the EBS volume during launch. Modify the streaming service to read from the EBS volume.
Explanation
Option C resolves the issue cost-effectively by using Mountpoint for Amazon S3 to mount the S3 bucket as a file system on EC2 instances. This ensures that the service always reads the latest configuration file directly from S3, avoiding outdated copies. Other options introduce unnecessary costs or complexity:
- A (DynamoDB) adds database costs and requires application changes.
- B (EFS) incurs storage/throughput costs and requires Lambda synchronization.
- D (EBS Multi-Attach) risks data corruption and is limited to specific instance types.
Mountpoint leverages S3's existing infrastructure, ensuring real-time updates with minimal cost. Key points: Use S3-native solutions for real-time file access; avoid redundant services when possible.
Answer
The correct answer is: C