Q42 — AWS SAA-C03 Ch.15

Question 42 of 100 | ← Chapter 15

Q1142. A solutions architect is creating a data reporting application that will send traffic through third-party network firewalls in an AWS security account. The firewalls and application servers must be load balanced.The application uses TCP connections to generate reports.The reports can run for several hours and can be idle for up to 1 hour. The reports must not time out during an idle period.Which solution will meet these requirements?

Correct Answer: D. Use a Gateway Load Balancer(GWLB) for the firewalls. Use an Application Load Balancer(ALB) for the application servers. Configure the ALB idle timeout period to 1 hour. Increase the application server capacity to finish the report generation faster.

Explanation

C OR D.C.Let's analyze each option to determine the best solution for the data reporting application's requirements:Key Requirements Recap:Load Balancing: Both firewalls and application servers must be load balanced. TCP Connections: The application uses TCP (not HTTP/HTTPS, so ALB's HTTP-specific features are less relevant).Long-Running Reports: Reports can run for hours and be idle for up to 1 hour. The TCP connections must not time out during idle periods.Third-Party Firewalls: The firewalls are third-party and must be integrated with load balancing.Analysis of Options:Option A:GWLB for Firewalls: Correct choice for third-party firewalls (GWLB is designed for this). ALB for Application Servers: Incorrect. ALB is Layer 7 (HTTP/HTTPS) and does not natively support long- lived TCP connections without timeouts (ALB's idle timeout is for HTTP/HTTPS, not raw TCP). For TCP, a Network Load Balancer (NLB) would be better, but this option uses ALB. Set ALB idle timeout to 1 hour: ALB is not ideal for raw TCP (NLB would be better), and even if the timeout is set to 1 hour, ALB is not optimized for long-lived TCP connections. Conclusion: Incorrect because ALB is not the best choice for raw TCP and long-lived connections.Option B:Single Firewall: This violates the requirement that firewalls must be load balanced (the question states "firewalls must be load balanced," implying redundancy/HA is needed). ALB for Application Servers: As above, ALB is not ideal for raw TCP. Set ALB and Firewall Idle Timeout to 1 Hour: Even if the timeout is set, ALB is not the right tool for long- lived TCP connections.Conclusion: Incorrect due to single firewall (no HA) and ALB being unsuitable for TCP.Option C:GWLB for Firewalls: Correct.ALB for Application Servers: Incorrect (as above, ALB is not ideal for raw TCP). Set Idle Timeouts for ALB, GWLB, and Firewalls to 1 Hour: While setting timeouts to 1 hour helps, ALB is still the wrong choice for TCP.Conclusion: Incorrect due to using ALB for TCP.Option D:GWLB for Firewalls: Correct (best for third-party firewalls). ALB for Application Servers: As above, ALB is not ideal for TCP, but the solution suggests increasing application server capacity to finish reports faster. This is a workaround, but the main issue is still ALB's unsuitability for TCP. However, the key here is that the question does not strictly forbid ALB for TCP (though it's suboptimal), and the focus is on avoiding timeouts. Configure ALB idle timeout to 1 hour: This ensures the ALB does not terminate idle connections prematurely.Increase Application Server Capacity: This helps mitigate the impact of ALB's limitations by finishing reports faster, reducing idle time.Conclusion: This is the best available option given the constraints (though NLB would be better for TCP, it's not listed). The key is that:GWLB is correctly used for firewalls.ALB's idle timeout is set to 1 hour (though suboptimal, it's a workaround). Increasing server capacity helps mitigate ALB's limitations.Why Not Other Options?A and C: ALB is not the best choice for raw TCP (NLB would be better, but it's not an option).B: Single firewall violates the "load balanced" requirement, and ALB is unsuitable for TCP.Final Answer:D is the best available option among the choices, despite ALB being suboptimal for TCP. The key is that it meets the load balancing requirement, sets timeouts correctly, and increases server capacity to work around ALB's limitations.Correction: Upon re-evaluating, the question expects a solution that strictly meets the requirements without workaround compromises. Since ALB is not ideal for TCP, the "best" option among the given choices is still D, but in a real-world scenario, NLB would be preferred for the application servers. However, since NLB is not an option, D is the closest to meeting the requirements (GWLB for firewalls, ALB with timeout and capacity adjustments for servers).答案:D