4.3 - AWS Support plans
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner objective 4.3 covers the AWS Support plans and what each tier adds. Basic Support is free and included with every AWS account, offering documentation, forums and core Trusted Advisor checks. Developer adds business-hours technical guidance for non-production. Business Support is the lowest tier that provides 24/7 access to support engineers by phone, chat and email, plus full Trusted Advisor. Enterprise Support (and Enterprise On-Ramp) is the minimum tier that includes a designated Technical Account Manager (TAM) and written architecture guidance for a business-critical workload, with the fastest response times. Remember the two anchors: Basic is free with every account; a TAM starts at Enterprise. Expect scenario questions that describe a needed capability - free tier, 24/7 engineer access, or a dedicated TAM - and ask which AWS Support plan is the minimum that provides it.
Free with every account = Basic. Lowest tier with 24/7 engineer access = Business. Minimum tier with a designated TAM + architecture guidance = Enterprise. Two anchors: Basic = free; TAM starts at Enterprise.
Practice questions
1. Which AWS Support plan is the minimum that includes a designated Technical Account Manager (TAM)?
- Basic
- Developer
- Business
- Enterprise (correct answer)
A designated TAM is included with Enterprise Support (and Enterprise On-Ramp offers a pool of TAMs). Basic is free, Developer/Business give faster support but no dedicated TAM.
2. A company wants automated best-practice checks that can flag idle resources, security gaps, and cost savings across its account. Which service provides this?
- AWS Artifact
- Amazon Inspector
- AWS Config
- AWS Trusted Advisor (correct answer)
AWS Trusted Advisor inspects your account against best practices across cost optimization, security, performance, fault tolerance, and service limits, and recommends actions.
3. A company running critical production workloads needs a designated Technical Account Manager and a 15-minute response for business-critical issues. Which support plan is required?
- Developer Support
- Enterprise Support (correct answer)
- Basic Support
- Business Support
Enterprise Support includes a designated Technical Account Manager and a target 15-minute response for business-critical (severity) cases. Business lacks the dedicated TAM.
4. Which AWS Support plan is the minimum tier that includes a designated Technical Account Manager (TAM)?
- Basic
- Developer
- Business
- Enterprise (correct answer)
A designated Technical Account Manager (TAM) is included with Enterprise Support (and Enterprise On-Ramp offers a pooled TAM). Business support offers 24/7 tech support but no dedicated TAM.
5. Which AWS Support plan is the lowest tier that provides 24/7 access to support engineers by phone, chat and email plus full Trusted Advisor checks?
- Developer
- Business (correct answer)
- Enterprise On-Ramp
- Enterprise
Business Support adds 24/7 phone/chat/email access to Cloud Support Engineers and the full set of Trusted Advisor checks. Developer is business-hours email only; Enterprise adds a TAM.
6. Which AWS Support plan is free and included with every AWS account?
- Enterprise Support
- Business Support
- Developer Support
- Basic Support (correct answer)
Basic Support is free for all accounts and includes documentation, whitepapers, support forums, and access to selected Trusted Advisor checks. Paid plans add technical support and faster response times.