Objective: compare the required control model
After lessons 03 and 06, identify the execution and operating-control requirements before choosing a compute category. EC2 supplies configurable virtual servers; customers manage guest-OS and installed application work. In this lesson, the comparison option is explicitly Lambda Event Functions: handler code runs in response to events or API calls while AWS manages underlying execution infrastructure. Current Lambda has other compute primitives, so do not generalize this limited comparison into a rule that every Lambda feature has the same model. No duration, concurrency, or quota limit is needed for these cases.
Control and management are independent of a universal winner
A workload may benefit from not managing execution servers, or it may explicitly require customer guest-OS control. Those are different constraints. Selecting an abstraction does not transfer business-data validation or permissions to AWS. Runtime maintenance also needs a deployment assumption: managed-runtime update behavior depends on mode, and container images require customer rebuild/redeployment. Cost requires separate usage inputs and an applicable estimate. Neither EC2 nor an Event Function is automatically the cheapest or most suitable option for every project.
Worked example: two components in a laboratory
Fictional teaching case: a laboratory receives document-conversion requests as independent events. Its conversion handler is compatible with the Event Function model and has no guest-OS requirement. A separate instrument-control component requires a custom persistent host agent and customer control of its guest OS. First list the components separately instead of choosing one platform for the whole laboratory. The conversion component can be evaluated as an Event Function fit because its stated execution and management needs align. The instrument component fits the EC2 control model in this comparison. Check the reasoning by swapping a requirement: if the conversion component also required that custom host agent, its original rationale would need re-evaluation. The decision follows the requirement, not the fact that one component sounds newer.
Changing instance count versus distributing work
For EC2-based applications, EC2 Auto Scaling can launch or terminate instances to meet configured desired capacity and scaling policies within group bounds. Elastic Load Balancing distributes incoming traffic across healthy targets. A project can need both functions, but they are not interchangeable. Scaling of a load balancer’s own capacity is not proof that it creates application instances. Similarly, having more application instances does not by itself specify how requests reach healthy ones. State the missing function before naming a service, and do not promise instantaneous response or unlimited capacity.
Transfer check and check basis
Try this new case: a fictional workshop already has enough healthy EC2 instances for its current workload, but all incoming requests are sent to one target. Is changing the maximum size of an Auto Scaling group alone the missing function? Check basis: the immediate requirement is traffic distribution across existing healthy targets, so evaluate load balancing for that purpose. Capacity policy is separate and may still need review if demand changes. Then attempt aws-clf-q-025–028, retrieve cards aws-clf-card-19–21, and read the standalone compute-options guide. Explain which stated condition eliminates a tempting option; avoid adding remembered service limits that the task does not require.
Try it, then explain it.
Complete a short set without looking at the example. After each answer, explain which evidence or rule supports your decision and why the alternatives do not fit.
Sources & authorship
Original OpenExam explanations and examples. References support the concepts; they are not the source of copied questions. Independent educator review is pending.
What is Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling? - Amazon EC2 Auto ScalingWhat is Amazon EC2? - Amazon Elastic Compute CloudWhat is Elastic Load Balancing? - Elastic Load BalancingWhat is AWS Lambda? - AWS LambdaSecurity in AWS Lambda - AWS LambdaUnderstanding the shared responsibility model for Lambda runtime management - AWS LambdaShared Responsibility Model - Amazon Web Services (AWS)