How to migrate EBS gp2 volumes to gp3 without downtime?

Choose a data store.

Answer Correct answer: C — Modify the existing gp2 volumes to gp3 in place with Amazon EBS Elastic Volumes, setting size, IOPS, and throughput as needed.

A company is planning to upgrade its Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS) General Purpose SSD storage from gp2 to gp3. The company wants to prevent any interruptions in its Amazon EC2 instances that will cause data loss during the migration to the upgraded storage. Which solution will meet these requirements with the LEAST operational overhead?

Create snapshots of the gp2 volumes. Create new gp3 volumes from the snapshots. Attach the new gp3 volumes to the EC2 instances.
Create new gp3 volumes. Gradually transfer the data to the new gp3 volumes. When the transfer is complete, mount the new gp3 volumes to the EC2 instances to replace the gp2 volumes.
Change the volume type of the existing gp2 volumes to gp3. Enter new values for volume size, IOPS, and throughput. Correct Answer
Use AWS DataSync to create new gp3 volumes. Transfer the data from the original gp2 volumes to the new gp3 volumes.

Community Votes

100%

100% of anonymous learners picked answer C. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.

Community Insight

The question tests in-place EBS volume modification versus rebuild or copy approaches; the trap is assuming a new volume and data transfer are required, which adds downtime risk and operational work.

Amazon EBS Elastic Volumes lets you change an existing gp2 volume to gp3 in place, so no snapshot/restore cycle or data-copy tooling is required. This page confirms option C as the lowest-overhead, no-downtime migration path for DEA-C01.

Choosing the snapshot-and-recreate route (A) because it feels safer, even though Elastic Volumes changes the volume type directly with no detach, restart, or data-copy step.

Community Discussion (4 comments)

GiorgioGss 👍 6 Selected: C

https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/storage/migrate-your-amazon-ebs-volumes-from-gp2-to-gp3-and-save-up-to-20-on-costs/

fceb2c1 👍 6 Selected: C

Option C: Check section under "To modify an Amazon EBS volume using the AWS Management Console“ in GiorgioGss's link Amazon EBS Elastic Volumes enable you to modify your volume type from gp2 to gp3 without detaching volumes or restarting instances (requirements for modification), which means that there are no interruptions to your applications during modification.

lcsantos99 👍 1 Selected: C

the correct answer is C https://aws.amazon.com/pt/blogs/storage/migrate-your-amazon-ebs-volumes-from-gp2-to-gp3-and-save-up-to-20-on-costs/

rralucard_ 👍 2 Selected: C

Option C is the most straightforward and efficient approach to upgrading from gp2 to gp3 EBS volumes, providing an in-place upgrade path with minimal operational overhead and no interruption in service.

Comments & Corrections

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Expert Analysis

Why the Answer Is Correct

Amazon EBS Elastic Volumes supports modifying an existing volume's type, size, IOPS, and throughput while the volume remains attached to the instance. Changing gp2 to gp3 is an in-place modification, so the data stays on the same volume and there is no need to detach the volume or restart the EC2 instance. That directly satisfies the requirement to avoid interruptions and data loss while keeping operational overhead at the minimum. The values for volume size, IOPS, and throughput can be supplied during the same modification if they need to change, but the key point is that the volume type change itself is handled by EBS.

Why the Other Options Are Wrong

Option A requires creating snapshots, building new gp3 volumes from them, and then attaching the new volumes; that is a multi-step migration with additional risk and operational effort compared with an in-place modification. Option B is even more manual because it requires gradually copying data to new gp3 volumes and then swapping the mounts, which is not the least-overhead approach and can introduce application interruption. Option D misuses AWS DataSync, which is designed for data transfer between storage systems rather than as a native way to create and replace EBS block volumes. None of these alternatives beats Elastic Volumes for a simple gp2-to-gp3 upgrade.

Community Comment Notes

GiorgioGss pointed to the AWS storage blog on migrating EBS volumes from gp2 to gp3 to save up to 20% on costs, which supports the in-place upgrade direction. fceb2c1 highlighted the Elastic Volumes documentation showing that modifications can be made "without detaching volumes or restarting instances," which is the core no-interruption argument for option C. rralucard_ described option C as the most straightforward and efficient approach, providing an in-place upgrade path with minimal operational overhead and no service interruption. lcsantos99 linked the same AWS blog, reinforcing that the gp2-to-gp3 migration is handled through volume modification rather than snapshot or copy workflows.

Official Reference

Exam Strategy

When a stem says LEAST operational overhead and the change is an EBS volume type or performance attribute, look for the in-place Elastic Volumes modification rather than snapshot or copy workarounds. Confirm modification prerequisites before changing the volume.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why not snapshot the gp2 volume and create a new gp3 volume from it?

That works but adds snapshot, restore, attach, and validation steps. Elastic Volumes changes the existing volume type in place, which is the least-overhead option.

Does changing an EBS volume from gp2 to gp3 require detaching it from EC2?

No. Amazon EBS Elastic Volumes supports modifying the volume type while it remains attached, so you do not need to detach the volume or restart the instance.

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