The SAP-C02 exam
Format, domain weights, and a method for long scenario questions.
Format
Where the points are
| Domain | Weight | In one sentence |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · Organizational complexity | 26% | Networks, security, DR and governance across many accounts |
| 2 · New solutions | 29% | Designing new workloads for deployment, continuity, security, reliability, performance and cost |
| 3 · Continuous improvement | 25% | Improving an existing system while changing as little as possible |
| 4 · Migration and modernization | 20% | Choosing what to move, how to move it, and what to turn it into |
Domains 2 and 3 cover the same pillars from opposite ends. Domain 2 starts from a blank page. Domain 3 starts from a system that is already running and asks for the smallest change that fixes it.
How to read a long question
The last sentence usually says what to optimize for. These phrases decide more answers than any service detail:
| Phrase in the question | What it rules out |
|---|---|
| Least operational overhead | Self-managed EC2, custom scripts, anything you have to patch |
| Most cost-effective | Always-on duplicates and over-provisioning. It's still subject to the stated RTO and RPO |
| Fewest changes / minimal code changes | Re-architecting. Prefer configuration changes and managed drop-in replacements |
| As quickly as possible (migration) | Refactoring before moving. Prefer rehost or replatform |
| Must not traverse the internet | Public endpoints and internet VPN. Look for PrivateLink, Direct Connect or VPC endpoints |
| Across all accounts / centrally | Per-account setups. Look for Organizations features such as delegated admin, SCPs and StackSets |
Exam signal
When two options both work, the answer is usually the one that uses a managed service or feature built for the job, not one assembled from general-purpose parts.
The technically impressive answer
Options that add Lambda functions, custom agents or extra services to reproduce a feature AWS already offers are usually distractors. They technically work, but they're more to run than necessary.
If your material is from before 2023
Older SAP guides were written for the retired SAP-C01 exam, and several services have since been renamed or retired. Use the newer names:
| Older material says | Use now |
|---|---|
| AWS SSO | IAM Identity Center |
| CloudFront Origin Access Identity (OAI) | Origin Access Control (OAC) |
| Server Migration Service, CloudEndure Migration | AWS Application Migration Service (MGN) |
| CloudEndure Disaster Recovery | AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery (DRS) |
| Amazon Elasticsearch Service | Amazon OpenSearch Service |
| Kinesis Data Analytics | Amazon Managed Service for Apache Flink |
| AWS OpsWorks | Systems Manager, CloudFormation. OpsWorks reached end of life in 2024 |
| Amazon Simple Workflow Service | AWS Step Functions |
| Snowmobile, Snowcone | Both are retired. For new projects AWS points to DataSync over the network or AWS Data Transfer Terminal; Snowball Edge also closed to new customers in 2025. See data transfer |
The optimizer settles it. An EC2 instance has to be patched, monitored and kept available, and a built-in feature doesn't. "Least operational overhead" almost always favours the managed feature.