AWS DevOps Engineer Professional Practice Test 2025 - Free DevOps Practice Questions and Certification Study Guide

Scaling an application using Auto Scaling in AWS requires scaling policies and appropriate launch configurations. Scaling policies are defined to determine how the Auto Scaling group should respond to changing demand, such as adding or removing instances based on metrics like CPU utilization or network traffic.

Launch configurations (or launch templates) specify the instance type, Amazon Machine Image (AMI), key pair, security groups, and other instance settings that will be used when new instances are launched to handle the increased load. By combining these two elements—scaling policies and launch configurations—Auto Scaling can automatically adjust the number of instances in response to changes in traffic or application load, thus ensuring that the application remains available and cost-effective.

Other choices do not directly address the requirements necessary for Auto Scaling to function effectively. A dedicated instance type is not needed, as Auto Scaling can accommodate various instance types based on the launch configuration. While IAM roles are important for granting permissions, they are not a direct requirement for the scaling process itself. Manual intervention is counter to the purpose of Auto Scaling, which is designed to automate the scaling of applications according to predefined rules, minimizing the need for human action.