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CloudCertPrep
SAA-C03Domain 3: Design High-Performing ArchitecturesCompute SelectionmediumSingle choice

A latency-sensitive API has constant high traffic, requires sub-millisecond internal calls between microservices, and needs full control of the runtime environment including a custom kernel module. Which platform is most appropriate?

A.AWS Lambda

Lambda cannot load kernel modules and cold starts hurt the most latency-sensitive paths.

B.Amazon EC2 instances (or containers on EC2)

Correct. EC2 provides OS-level control and consistent performance for steady high load.

C.AWS Fargate only, because it removes all servers

Fargate removes server management but still cannot run custom kernel modules.

D.Amazon S3 with static hosting

Static hosting cannot run an API.

Why this answer

Custom kernel modules and constant high throughput favor EC2 (or ECS/EKS on EC2), which offers full OS control and predictable sustained performance. Lambda does not allow kernel-level customization.

Correct answer: B · Last reviewed 2026-10-25

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