Amazon Web Services Updated SAA-C03 Exam Questions and Answers by inayah

The correct answer is Option D. Deploy an S3 VPC gateway endpoint into the VPC and attach an endpoint policy that allows access to the S3 buckets. By deploying an S3 VPC gateway endpoint, the application can access the S3 buckets over a private network connection within the VPC, eliminating the need for data transfer over the internet. This can help reduce data transfer fees as well as improve the performance of the application. The endpoint policy can be used to specify which S3 buckets the application has access to.

AWSSecrets Manageris the best solution for securely storing and managing sensitive information, such as usernames and passwords. Secrets Manager provides automatic rotation, fine-grained access control, and encryption of credentials. It is designed to integrate easily with other AWS services, such as CloudFormation, to automate the retrieval of secrets via theBatchGetSecretValue API.

Secrets Manager has a lower operational overhead than manually managing credentials, and it offers features like automatic secret rotation that reduce the need for human intervention.

Option A and C (Parameter Store): While Systems Manager Parameter Store can store secrets, Secrets Manager provides more specialized capabilities for securely managing and rotating credentials with less operational overhead.

Option B and C (AWS Batch): Introducing AWS Batch unnecessarily complicates the solution. Secrets Manager already provides simple API calls for retrieving secrets without needing an additional service.

AWS References:

AWS Secrets Manager

Secrets Manager with CloudFormation

For the migration of data from an on-premises Oracle database to Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL, this solution effectively handles schema conversion, data migration, and ongoing data replication.

AWS Schema Conversion Tool (SCT): SCT is used to convert the Oracle database schema to a format compatible with Aurora PostgreSQL. This tool automatically converts the database schema and code objects, like stored procedures, to the target database engine.

AWS Database Migration Service (DMS): DMS is employed to perform the data migration. It supports both full-load migrations (for initial data transfer) and continuous replication of ongoing changes (Change Data Capture, or CDC). This ensures that any updates to the Oracle database during the migration are captured and applied to the Aurora PostgreSQL database, minimizing downtime.

Why Not Other Options?:

Option A (SCT + DMS full-load only): This option does not capture ongoing changes, which is crucial for a live database migration to ensure data consistency.

Option B (DataSync + S3): AWS DataSync is more suited for file transfers rather than database migrations, and it doesn’t support ongoing change replication.

Option D (Snowball + S3): Snowball is typically used for large-scale data transfers that don’t require continuous synchronization, making it less suitable for this scenario where ongoing changes must be captured.

AWS References:

AWS Schema Conversion Tool- Guidance on using SCT for database schema conversions.

AWS Database Migration Service- Detailed documentation on using DMS for data migrations and ongoing replication.

This solution provides the most secure access for external support engineers with the least exposure to potential security risks.

AWS Systems Manager (SSM) and Session Manager: Systems Manager Session Manager allows secure and auditable access to EC2 instances without the need to open inbound SSH ports or manage SSH keys. This reduces the attack surface significantly. The SSM Agent must be installed and configured on all instances, and the instances must have an instance profile with the necessary IAM permissions to connect to Systems Manager.

IAM Identity Center: IAM Identity Center provides centralized management of access to the AWS Management Console for external support engineers. By using IAM Identity Center, youcan control console access securely and ensure that external engineers have the appropriate permissions based on their roles.

Why Not Other Options?:

Option B (Local IAM user credentials): This approach is less secure because it involves managing local IAM user credentials and does not leverage the centralized management and security benefits of IAM Identity Center.

Option C (Security group with SSH access): Allowing SSH access opens up the infrastructure to potential security risks, even when restricted by IP addresses. It also requires managing SSH keys, which can be cumbersome and less secure.

Option D (Bastion host): While a bastion host can secure SSH access, it still requires managing SSH keys and opening ports. This approach is less secure and more operationally intensive compared to using Session Manager.

AWS References:

AWS Systems Manager Session Manager- Documentation on using Session Manager for secure instance access.

AWS IAM Identity Center- Overview of IAM Identity Center and its capabilities for managing user access.