SAP-C02 Question #604: Real Exam Question with Answer & Explanation

Question

A company is migrating a legacy application from an on-premises data center to AWS. The application consists of a single application server and a Microsoft SQL Server database server. Each server is deployed on a VMware VM that consumes 500 TB of data across multiple attached volumes. The company has established a 10 Gbps AWS Direct Connect connection from the closest AWS Region to its on-premises data center. The Direct Connect connection is not currently in use by other services. Which combination of steps should a solutions architect take to migrate the application with the LEAST amount of downtime? (Choose two.)

Options

• AUse an AWS Server Migration Service (AWS SMS) replication job to migrate the database server
• BUse VM Import/Export to import the application server VM.
• CExport the VM images to an AWS Snowball Edge Storage Optimized device.
• DUse an AWS Server Migration Service (AWS SMS) replication job to migrate the application
• EUse an AWS Database Migration Service (AWS DMS) replication instance to migrate the

Explanation

B (VM Import/Export) is correct because it natively supports importing VMware VMs into AWS as AMIs, making it the right tool to lift-and-shift the application server - the app server has no special live-replication requirements, so a snapshot-based import over the available Direct Connect is appropriate. E (DMS) is correct because AWS Database Migration Service is purpose-built for live database migrations: it uses Change Data Capture (CDC) to continuously sync the SQL Server database to the target until cutover, dramatically minimizing downtime compared to a VM-level approach.

A is wrong because SMS performs block-level VM replication - it has no understanding of database transactions or consistency, making DMS the far superior choice for a live SQL Server migration. C is wrong because an unused 10 Gbps Direct Connect link already provides sufficient bandwidth; Snowball Edge exists for offline transfers when network capacity is inadequate, so shipping physical devices here would add unnecessary delay. D is wrong because SMS is the competing option to VM Import/Export for the application server, but since a database-aware tool (DMS) handles the harder problem, the simpler VM Import/Export is the correct pairing for the app tier.

Memory tip: Match the tool to the workload type - "Database → DMS, VM → VM Import/Export, Snowball only when the wire can't handle it."

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