How Many Questions Are There in the AWS Solutions Architect Exam? – Complete Guide by OpsNexa
The AWS Certified Solutions Architect exam is a popular certification for professionals working in cloud architecture. As the demand for cloud expertise continues to grow, AWS certifications are becoming a highly sought-after credential in the tech industry. If you’re looking to take the AWS Solutions Architect exam, you might be wondering, how many questions are in the exam? This blog post will break down the exam’s format, provide key insights on its structure, and give you useful tips to prepare effectively.
In this article, we’ll answer your question about the number of questions in the AWS Solutions Architect exam, explore the exam’s overall structure, and share preparation strategies to help you pass the exam with confidence. Whether you’re aiming for the Associate level or the Professional level, this comprehensive guide will help you succeed.
Exam Overview: AWS Solutions Architect Certification
The AWS Certified Solutions Architect exam validates your ability to design and deploy scalable systems on the AWS platform. AWS offers two levels of the exam for this certification:
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AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate
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AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional
Both levels test your skills in designing cloud infrastructure, solving cloud-based problems, ensuring security, and optimizing performance. However, the professional-level exam is more advanced and typically requires deeper expertise in AWS services and real-world architecture experience.
The Associate-level exam is designed for individuals with some hands-on experience with AWS and cloud-based solutions. In contrast, the Professional-level exam is for experienced cloud architects who are skilled in designing and managing complex AWS infrastructures.
Number of Questions in the AWS Solutions Architect Exam
If you’re preparing for the exam, you might wonder how many questions you’ll have to answer. The number of questions depends on the level of the exam you’re taking:
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AWS Solutions Architect – Associate exam: It consists of 65 questions.
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AWS Solutions Architect – Professional exam: This exam contains 75 questions.
Both exams are designed to evaluate your ability to solve real-world cloud architecture problems using AWS services. The questions will assess your knowledge of key AWS services, security best practices, cost optimization techniques, and architectural design principles.
Understanding the Question Format
The AWS Solutions Architect exams use multiple-choice and multiple-response question formats. Each type is designed to test your ability to analyze a problem, choose the most appropriate solution, and apply the relevant AWS services effectively.
Multiple-Choice Questions
In multiple-choice questions, you will be given four answer choices and asked to choose the single best answer. These questions test your ability to evaluate different AWS services and choose the most suitable solution based on a given scenario.
Multiple-Response Questions
In multiple-response questions, you will be provided with a list of possible answers, and you will need to select all the correct answers. Multiple-response questions may test your ability to understand how different AWS services work together in complex architectures and identify all the correct actions or solutions.
For both types of questions, it is crucial to read each question carefully and understand the requirements before making your selection. The scenarios presented in these questions will reflect real-world challenges, requiring you to make decisions based on best practices and AWS’s recommended solutions.
Breakdown of Key Topics Covered in the AWS Solutions Architect Exam
The AWS Solutions Architect exam covers a wide range of topics, from designing highly available systems to ensuring security and cost optimization. Here’s a breakdown of the major subject areas covered in both the Associate-level and Professional-level exams:
1. Designing Resilient Architectures
The ability to design resilient architectures is one of the primary focus areas in the AWS Solutions Architect exam. This section tests your knowledge of designing fault-tolerant systems that can recover from failures and scale automatically to meet varying demands.
Key concepts to focus on include:
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High availability and disaster recovery: Understanding how to design architectures that ensure business continuity even in the face of failure.
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Auto-scaling: Using services like Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling and Elastic Load Balancing (ELB) to handle varying loads.
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Redundancy and failover strategies: Implementing strategies such as multi-AZ and multi-region architectures to ensure uptime.
2. Designing High-Performance Architectures
Performance is critical when designing cloud-based applications. In this section of the exam, you will need to demonstrate your ability to build systems that maximize performance while minimizing latency.
Topics to review include:
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Elastic load balancing and scaling: Setting up load balancers and scaling resources to handle different traffic loads.
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Amazon CloudFront: Using Amazon CloudFront to cache and distribute content globally for low-latency access.
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Performance monitoring tools: Understanding how to use tools like Amazon CloudWatch to monitor system performance.
3. Designing Secure Applications and Architectures
Security is a top priority for AWS and is a major component of the Solutions Architect exam. You will need to design architectures that follow AWS security best practices, including proper identity and access management.
Key areas to focus on include:
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IAM roles and policies: Using AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) to control user and service permissions.
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Encryption: Ensuring that sensitive data is encrypted at rest and in transit.
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Network security: Configuring security groups, NACLs, and VPNs to secure your cloud infrastructure.
4. Cost and Performance Optimization
In this section, you will be tested on your ability to design cost-effective solutions that provide optimal performance. AWS is known for its flexible pricing models, and understanding how to minimize costs while maintaining performance is essential.
Key topics include:
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Choosing the right pricing model: Knowing when to use on-demand, reserved, or spot instances.
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Cost optimization tools: Using AWS Cost Explorer, Trusted Advisor, and other tools to monitor and reduce cloud costs.
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Efficient resource management: Ensuring that your cloud architecture uses resources in the most efficient way.
Tips for Preparing for the AWS Solutions Architect Exam
Proper preparation is key to success on the AWS Solutions Architect exam. Here are some tips to help you get ready:
1. Take Practice Exams
Taking practice exams is one of the best ways to simulate the real exam experience. Practice exams will help you become familiar with the question format and time constraints, allowing you to adjust your strategy for answering questions efficiently.
AWS provides official practice exams, which are highly recommended as they reflect the actual exam structure and difficulty.
2. Hands-On Experience
While studying theory is important, hands-on experience with AWS services is crucial. If you don’t already have direct experience working with AWS, consider setting up a free-tier account to practice using services like EC2, S3, RDS, and VPC. This will give you a deeper understanding of how AWS works in real-world scenarios.
3. Use AWS Whitepapers and FAQs
AWS offers comprehensive whitepapers and FAQs that cover a wide range of best practices and architectural patterns. These resources are an excellent way to deepen your knowledge of AWS’s recommended solutions and how to implement them effectively.
4. Join Online Communities
Joining AWS-related online communities and forums can provide valuable insights and advice from fellow exam takers and professionals in the field. Engaging with others can help clarify complex concepts and provide support during your preparation.
How to Manage Your Time During the Exam
The AWS Solutions Architect exam is a time-sensitive test, so managing your time effectively is essential. Here are some strategies to help you stay on track:
1. Answer Easy Questions First
Start by answering the questions you feel most confident about. This will give you a sense of accomplishment and allow you to tackle harder questions later without feeling rushed.
2. Flag Difficult Questions
If you come across a question that you’re unsure about, flag it and move on. This will allow you to come back to it later with a fresh perspective once you’ve completed the other questions.
3. Don’t Overthink the Questions
While it’s important to read each question carefully, don’t overanalyze it. Trust your knowledge and instincts, and choose the answer that best fits the scenario. Overthinking can lead to second-guessing, which could waste valuable time.
Final Thoughts on the AWS Solutions Architect Exam
The AWS Solutions Architect exam is a challenging but rewarding certification that tests your ability to design, deploy, and manage scalable cloud solutions. With 65 questions for the Associate exam and 75 questions for the Professional exam, it’s important to manage your time effectively and prepare thoroughly.
By understanding the exam structure, focusing on key topics, and practicing with real-world AWS services, you can increase your chances of passing the exam. Whether you’re aiming for the Associate or Professional level, the skills you gain in the process will set you up for success in your cloud architecture career.
Good luck with your preparation! Keep studying, practicing, and applying your AWS knowledge, and you’ll be well on your way to earning your AWS Solutions Architect certification.