Architecting on AWS Certification Blueprint Reading & Symbols 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In an AWS architecture diagram, a dashed border surrounding multiple resources typically indicates what?
- A VPC boundary
- An Auto Scaling group boundary (Correct answer)
- An Availability Zone boundary
- A security group boundary
Correct answer: An Auto Scaling group boundary
Dashed borders in AWS diagrams conventionally represent Auto Scaling groups, while solid borders represent VPCs and AZs.
Question 2: Which symbol shape is used in AWS reference architecture diagrams to represent an Internet Gateway?
- A cylinder
- A circle with an arrow pointing outward
- A horizontal line with an arrow
- A globe icon within a square (Correct answer)
Correct answer: A globe icon within a square
AWS represents an Internet Gateway using a globe/world icon, indicating internet connectivity from the VPC.
Question 3: In an AWS network diagram, what does a line with a padlock icon between two nodes represent?
- A Direct Connect dedicated line
- An encrypted or secure communication channel (Correct answer)
- A NAT Gateway connection
- A read-only data flow
Correct answer: An encrypted or secure communication channel
A padlock on a connection line indicates encrypted communication, such as TLS/SSL or VPN tunneling between components.
Question 4: On an AWS VPC diagram, a public subnet is most commonly distinguished from a private subnet by which visual convention?
- Using a larger box size
- Using a different color (e.g., lighter shade) or a direct route to an Internet Gateway (Correct answer)
- Placing it outside the VPC boundary
- Adding a 'P' label inside the subnet box
Correct answer: Using a different color (e.g., lighter shade) or a direct route to an Internet Gateway
Public subnets are typically shown in a lighter color and have a route line connecting to the Internet Gateway, while private subnets do not.
Question 5: When reading an AWS architecture blueprint, a bidirectional arrow between two services indicates what type of communication?
- Asynchronous one-way messaging
- Request-response or two-way data exchange (Correct answer)
- Read-only access from one service to another
- A VPN tunnel between regions
Correct answer: Request-response or two-way data exchange
Bidirectional arrows represent two-way communication where both parties send and receive data, such as a client-server request-response pattern.
Question 6: In an AWS architecture diagram, Route 53 is most commonly depicted as which type of icon?
- A cylinder representing a database
- A DNS server rack symbol
- A globe or world icon with route lines (Correct answer)
- A shield representing security
Correct answer: A globe or world icon with route lines
Route 53 is depicted with a globe/routing icon to represent its global DNS routing capabilities.
Question 7: What does a double-headed arrow with 'Async' labeled on it represent in an AWS messaging architecture diagram?
- Synchronous RPC calls
- Real-time bidirectional WebSocket traffic
- Asynchronous message passing, often via SQS or SNS (Correct answer)
- A failover path between regions
Correct answer: Asynchronous message passing, often via SQS or SNS
Labeled async arrows indicate decoupled, non-blocking message flows typically implemented using SQS queues or SNS topics.
Architecting on AWS Certification Blueprint Reading & Symbols 2
In an AWS architecture diagram, a dashed border surrounding multiple resources typically indicates what?