Create a Multi-AZ FSx for NetApp ONTAP file system, mount it via user data, and instance refresh the Auto Scaling groups

Implement highly available solutions to meet resilience and business requirements. Define cloud infrastructure and reusable components to provision and manage systems throughout their lifecycle.

Answer Correct answer: B, D, E — use Multi-AZ FSx for NetApp ONTAP, mount it via launch template user data, and instance refresh the groups.

A company runs applications on Windows and Linux Amazon EC2 instances. The instances run across multiple Availability Zones in an AWS Region. The company uses Auto Scaling groups for each application. The company needs a durable storage solution for the instances. The solution must use SMB for Windows and must use NFS for Linux. The solution must also have sub-millisecond latencies. All instances will read and write the data. Which combination of steps will meet these requirements? (Choose three.)

Create an Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS) file system that has targets in multiple Availability Zones.
Create an Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP Multi-AZ file system. Correct Answer
Create a General Purpose SSD (gp3) Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS) volume to use for shared storage.
Update the user data for each application’s launch template to mount the file system. Correct Answer
Perform an instance refresh on each Auto Scaling group. Correct Answer

Community Votes

BDE

100%

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

Community Insight

FSx for NetApp ONTAP is the only listed file system that natively serves both SMB and NFS with sub-millisecond latency (B). Option A, Amazon EFS, is NFS-only, so Windows instances cannot use SMB against it. Option C, a gp3 EBS volume, cannot be shared between multiple EC2 instances at all and is not a file system. Mounting the file system is delivered through the launch template user data (D), and because that user data only applies to newly launched instances, an instance refresh is required so the existing Auto Scaling group members are replaced and mount the file system (E).

A single shared durable file system must serve both Windows over SMB and Linux over NFS with sub-millisecond latency across multiple Auto Scaling groups. Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP provides a managed ONTAP file system that speaks both SMB and NFS, and deploying it as Multi-AZ gives the required durability and latency. The mount configuration is delivered through the launch template user data so new instances mount the file system automatically, and an instance refresh then rolls the existing Auto Scaling group members so they pick up that same configuration.

Using Amazon EFS with targets in multiple Availability Zones (A) — EFS is NFS-only and does not support SMB, so the Windows instances in this scenario cannot consume it. Using a gp3 EBS volume as shared storage (C) — an EBS volume attaches to a single EC2 instance and cannot be a shared file system across many instances. Assuming updating the launch template user data is sufficient (D alone) — VerRi correctly noted that new EC2 instances are auto-mounted, but existing Auto Scaling group members are not replaced unless an instance refresh runs, which is why E is required.

Community Discussion (9 comments)

raycomh 👍 5 Selected: BDE

To meet the requirements of the scenario, the company should take the following steps: Create an Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP Multi-AZ file system (Option B): Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP supports both SMB (for Windows) and NFS (for Linux), and it provides sub-millisecond latencies. It also supports Multi-AZ configurations for high availability and durability. Update the user data for each application’s launch template to mount the file system (Option D): This ensures that every new instance launched by the Auto Scaling group will have the file system mounted. Perform an instance refresh on each Auto Scaling group (Option E): This will update the existing instances with the new launch template configuration, ensuring that they have the file system mounted.

VerRi 👍 2 Selected: BDE

D has updated UserData, new EC2 should be auto-mounted, why F?

limelight04 👍 1 Selected: BD

Option B: Create an Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP Multi-AZ file system. This provides high-performance storage with support for both SMB and NFS protocols. Option D: Update the user data for each application’s launch template to mount the file system. This ensures that the file system is automatically mounted when new instances are launched. Option F: Update the EC2 instances for each application to mount the file system when new instances are launched. This ensures that all instances can read and write data to the file system

jamesf 👍 3 Selected: BDE

after review and check, BDE will be better Option E focuses on updating existing instances with the new configurations by replacing them with new instances based on the updated launch template. This is particularly useful when you want all instances, including those currently running, to immediately adhere to new configurations. B. Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP Multi-AZ file system. - SMB and NFS Support - Sub-Millisecond Latency - Multi-AZ Availability: ensures HA and fault tolerance, as the data is replicated across multiple Availability Zones, which aligns with the requirement for a durable storage solution. D. Update the user data for each application’s launch template to mount the file system. - Automated Mounting the FSx file system at startup - Protocol-Specific Commands: For Windows instances, mount the SMB share, while for Linux instances, mount the NFS share

jamesf 👍 1 Selected: BD

B. Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP Multi-AZ file system. - SMB and NFS Support - Sub-Millisecond Latency - Multi-AZ Availability: ensures HA and fault tolerance, as the data is replicated across multiple Availability Zones, which aligns with the requirement for a durable storage solution. D. Update the user data for each application’s launch template to mount the file system. - Automated Mounting the FSx file system at startup - Protocol-Specific Commands: For Windows instances, mount the SMB share, while for Linux instances, mount the NFS share F. Update the EC2 instances for each application to mount the file system when new instances are launched. - Configuration Consistency: ensures that every new instance launched as part of the Auto Scaling group auto mounts the FSx file system. - Ease of Management: By automating the mounting process, you reduce the administrative overhead and potential for errors, ensuring a consistent and reliable setup.

tgv 👍 2

---> BDE

trungtd 👍 3 Selected: BDE

BDE for me

siheom 👍 2 Selected: BD

VOTE BDF

xdkonorek2 👍 3 Selected: BDE

BDE NetApp ONTAP for SMB and NFS at the same time

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Expert Analysis

Why the Answer Is Correct

The requirement is one durable shared file system that speaks SMB for Windows and NFS for Linux with sub-millisecond latency. Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP delivers a managed ONTAP file system supporting both protocols with that performance profile, and creating it as a Multi-AZ file system spreads it across Availability Zones for the required durability (B). The mount configuration is placed in the user data of each application's launch template so every new instance mounts the file system on boot (D). Because user data only runs at instance launch, an instance refresh must then be performed on each Auto Scaling group so the existing members are replaced by new instances that mount the file system, satisfying the requirement across the whole fleet (E).

Why the Other Options Are Wrong

A proposes Amazon EFS with multi-AZ targets. EFS is an NFS-only file system, so it cannot serve the Windows instances over SMB, and the requirement explicitly calls for SMB on Windows. C proposes a gp3 EBS volume used as shared storage. An EBS volume attaches to only one EC2 instance and cannot be mounted by many instances simultaneously, and it has no SMB or NFS semantics. Limelight04 argued for B and D only, but VerRi's observation is decisive: without the instance refresh, already-running Auto Scaling group members never receive the new user data, so the mount would not be applied fleet-wide. B, D, and E are the correct combination.

Community Comment Notes

Community voted B,D,E (82), with B,D appearing as a minority. raycomh identified that FSx for NetApp ONTAP supports both SMB and NFS with sub-millisecond latency and Multi-AZ availability. VerRi raised the key point that user data only mounts on new instances, which is what makes the instance refresh in E necessary, and jamesf confirmed E's role in updating existing instances to the new configuration.

Official Reference

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/fsx/latest/ONTAPGuide/ontap-concepts.html

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