PracticeVideosBlogFlashcardsEspañol
All Practice Exams

100+ Free SAE-C01 Practice Questions

Pass your Alibaba Cloud Solutions Architect (Expert) - SAE-C01 exam on the first try — instant access, no signup required.

✓ No registration✓ No credit card✓ No hidden fees✓ Start practicing immediately
35% Pass Rate
100+ Questions
100% Free
1 / 100
Question 1
Score: 0/0

Which Alibaba Cloud database service provides DTS-based heterogeneous migration from Oracle to PolarDB MySQL with schema conversion and minimal downtime?

A
B
C
D
to track
Same family resources

Explore More Alibaba Cloud Certifications

Continue into nearby exams from the same family. Each card keeps practice questions, study guides, flashcards, videos, and articles in one place.

Alibaba Cloud ACA Cloud Business

Practice Questions

Alibaba Cloud ACA Generative AI Engineer

Practice Questions

Alibaba Cloud Certified Associate (ACA) Cloud Computing

Practice Questions

Alibaba Cloud Certified Associate (ACA) Cloud Operator

Practice Questions

Alibaba Cloud Certified Cloud Architect (Professional)

Practice Questions

Alibaba Cloud Certified Professional - Cloud Computing (ACP-Cloud1)

Practice Questions
2026 Statistics

Key Facts: SAE-C01 Exam

100

Total Questions

Alibaba Cloud Academy

120 min

Time Limit

Alibaba Cloud Academy

80 / 100

Passing Score

Alibaba Cloud Academy

$280

Exam Fee

Alibaba Cloud Academy 2026

Pearson VUE

Delivery Provider

Alibaba Cloud Academy

May 13, 2025

ACE Cloud Computing Retired

Alibaba Cloud Academy

SAE-C01 is a 100-question, 120-minute proctored exam at Pearson VUE costing $280 with an 80/100 passing score. It tests expert architecture decisions across compute, networking, storage, databases, security, cloud-native, hybrid cloud, and data/AI domains. The credential REPLACES the retired ACE Cloud Computing exam and assumes Cloud Architect (Professional) prerequisites.

Sample SAE-C01 Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to test your SAE-C01 exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1A global e-commerce platform must serve users in China, Singapore, and Frankfurt with sub-100 ms latency to a single API backend in China. Which Alibaba Cloud service should the architect choose to give overseas users an Anycast acceleration entry point that terminates close to them and forwards traffic over the backbone to the origin?
A.Cloud Enterprise Network (CEN) Transit Router
B.Global Accelerator (GA)
C.Server Load Balancer (SLB) with cross-region listener
D.Express Connect router
Explanation: Global Accelerator (GA) provides Anycast IPs that absorb client traffic at the edge POP nearest to each user and forward the request over Alibaba Cloud's private backbone to the origin region. This is the purpose-built service for accelerating client-to-origin paths across the public internet. CEN connects VPCs and on-premises networks privately. SLB is regional. Express Connect is a private circuit between VPC and customer DC.
2Which Alibaba Cloud service is designed to interconnect dozens of VPCs across regions and on-premises sites with centralized routing policy and overlapping CIDR detection?
A.VPN Gateway
B.Cloud Enterprise Network (CEN) with Transit Router
C.NAT Gateway
D.Smart Access Gateway
Explanation: CEN with Transit Router provides hub-and-spoke routing across many VPCs and on-premises networks, enforces centralized routing policies, and detects overlapping CIDRs at attachment time. VPN Gateway is point-to-point. NAT Gateway is for outbound internet. Smart Access Gateway is a branch-office device.
3An enterprise running PolarDB MySQL in Hangzhou must achieve RPO near zero and RTO under 1 minute for failover to Singapore. Which configuration meets the requirement?
A.OSS cross-region replication of database backups to Singapore
B.Global Database Network (GDN) with primary in Hangzhou and secondary clusters in Singapore
C.Manual snapshot restore daily to a Singapore cluster
D.Read-only replica in Hangzhou with DTS subscription
Explanation: PolarDB Global Database Network (GDN) replicates data across regions with low-latency physical-level replication, supports near-zero RPO, and allows minute-level failover to a secondary cluster. OSS-based backup replication produces an RPO measured in hours. Daily snapshots cannot meet near-zero RPO. A same-region read replica does not provide cross-region DR.
4Which Alibaba Cloud service is the managed Istio-based control plane for service mesh on ACK and external Kubernetes clusters?
A.Service Mesh (ASM)
B.Microservices Engine (MSE)
C.Enterprise Distributed Application Service (EDAS)
D.Application Real-Time Monitoring Service (ARMS)
Explanation: Alibaba Cloud Service Mesh (ASM) is the managed Istio-compatible control plane that injects Envoy sidecars into ACK workloads and external clusters, providing mTLS, traffic shifting, and observability. MSE provides Nacos/ZooKeeper/Eureka registries and config; EDAS is an application PaaS; ARMS is APM.
5A microservices team running Spring Cloud on EDAS needs a managed service registry and dynamic configuration center. Which MSE engine should they enable?
A.MSE Nacos
B.MSE ZooKeeper
C.MSE Cloud Native Gateway
D.MSE Eureka
Explanation: MSE Nacos is the recommended managed registry and configuration center for Spring Cloud and Dubbo applications on Alibaba Cloud, supporting service discovery and dynamic config. ZooKeeper targets coordination workloads; Cloud Native Gateway is an ingress; MSE Eureka exists but Nacos is the canonical choice for new Spring Cloud deployments on EDAS.
6Which framework provides flow control, circuit breaking, and system load protection for microservices on Alibaba Cloud?
A.Sentinel
B.GTS
C.Dubbo
D.Seata
Explanation: Sentinel is the open-source flow control, circuit breaking, and concurrency limiting library originated at Alibaba and integrated with MSE and EDAS. GTS/Seata handle distributed transactions; Dubbo is an RPC framework.
7A team must coordinate distributed transactions spanning RDS, MQ, and HTTP microservices using AT, TCC, SAGA, and XA modes. Which Alibaba Cloud service is purpose-built for this?
A.Sentinel
B.Global Transaction Service (GTS)
C.DataWorks
D.ARMS
Explanation: Global Transaction Service (GTS), the commercial Alibaba Cloud service built on the Seata project, coordinates distributed transactions across data sources and services using AT, TCC, SAGA, and XA modes. Sentinel is a resilience library; DataWorks is data integration; ARMS is monitoring.
8Which Alibaba Cloud product provides a fully managed Kubernetes-compatible serverless container runtime where pods are billed per-second without any node management?
A.ACK Pro
B.Serverless Kubernetes (ASK)
C.ECS Bare Metal
D.Container Registry Enterprise
Explanation: Serverless Kubernetes (ASK) eliminates worker node management by scheduling pods directly onto elastic container instances billed per second. ACK Pro still manages a node pool. ECS Bare Metal is dedicated hardware. Container Registry stores images.
9What is the recommended approach to run scale-to-zero, request-driven workloads on Alibaba Container Service for Kubernetes (ACK)?
A.Manual HPA tuned to zero replicas
B.Knative on ACK
C.DaemonSet with cron schedule
D.StatefulSet with PriorityClass
Explanation: Knative on ACK provides request-driven autoscaling, including scale-to-zero, for HTTP and event workloads. Standard HPA in upstream Kubernetes does not scale below the configured minReplicas in the same way Knative's KPA does. DaemonSets pin pods per node; StatefulSets are for stateful workloads.
10A retail enterprise wants Argo CD-driven GitOps for hundreds of ACK clusters with policy-based promotion. Which approach aligns with Alibaba Cloud best practices?
A.Run Argo CD on a hub ACK cluster and register member clusters via ACK One
B.Replace Argo CD with Function Compute
C.Use OSS event-trigger to rsync manifests to each cluster
D.Use DataWorks pipelines to apply manifests
Explanation: ACK One provides multi-cluster management with Argo CD integration so a hub cluster pushes desired state to many member clusters under unified RBAC and policy. Function Compute, OSS triggers, and DataWorks are not GitOps controllers and lack reconciliation semantics.

About the SAE-C01 Exam

The Alibaba Cloud Solutions Architect (Expert) certification, exam code SAE-C01, validates expert-level competency in designing complex, secure, and cost-efficient solutions on Alibaba Cloud. It is the 2025 refresh that REPLACES the legacy ACE Cloud Computing certification (retired May 13, 2025) and assumes Cloud Architect (Professional) foundations.

Questions

100 scored questions

Time Limit

120 minutes

Passing Score

80 / 100

Exam Fee

$280 USD (Alibaba Cloud Academy (delivered by Pearson VUE))

SAE-C01 Exam Content Outline

Core

Public Cloud Architectures

Multi-region active-active design, Well-Architected pillars, cell-based architecture, Resource Orchestration Service (ROS), FinOps tagging, Cost Manager budgets, and DR planning with RTO/RPO targets

Core

Compute Services

ECS pricing strategies, Dedicated Hosts and BYOL, Serverless App Engine (SAE), EDAS for Spring Cloud/Dubbo, Function Compute Pro with provisioned instances and ESSD storage tiers

Core

Networking Services

CEN with Transit Router and overlapping CIDR handling, Express Connect with VBR and partner cross-cloud, Anycast EIP, Global Accelerator, Smart Access Gateway SD-WAN, ALB/NLB, BGP path selection, and Anti-DDoS Pro/Premium

Core

Storage Services

OSS Standard/IA/Archive/Cold Archive tiers, Cross-Region Replication with versioning, Object Lock WORM, NAS, ESSD AutoPL/PL3, Cloud Storage Gateway, and Lightning Cube offline migration

Core

Database Services

PolarDB Global Database Network, PolarDB Serverless, RDS High-Availability, ApsaraDB for Redis and Lindorm time-series, AnalyticDB HTAP, and DTS heterogeneous migration

Core

Security Services

Cloud SOC, Cloud Firewall, RAM attribute-based access control, KMS envelope encryption and Secrets Manager, MLPS classified protection, GDPR data residency, IDaaS federation, and Container Registry supply-chain security

Core

Cloud Native Services

ACK Pro and Serverless Kubernetes (ASK), Knative scale-to-zero, Service Mesh (ASM), MSE Nacos, Sentinel flow control, Global Transaction Service (GTS), ARMS APM with OpenTelemetry, and ACK One GitOps with Argo CD

Core

Hybrid Cloud

Apsara Stack private cloud, Server Migration Center (SMC), Cloud Storage Gateway, and AD/LDAP federation via IDaaS with SAML AssumeRoleWithSAML

Core

Data and AI Architecture

MaxCompute and Hologres lakehouse with Data Lake Formation (DLF), DataWorks OneData/DataPhin, Realtime Compute for Apache Flink, Platform for AI (PAI) with EAS serving and DSW/DLC, IoT Platform, and Model Studio AI Gateway

How to Pass the SAE-C01 Exam

What You Need to Know

  • Passing score: 80 / 100
  • Exam length: 100 questions
  • Time limit: 120 minutes
  • Exam fee: $280 USD

Keys to Passing

  • Complete 500+ practice questions
  • Score 80%+ consistently before scheduling
  • Focus on highest-weighted sections
  • Use our AI tutor for tough concepts

SAE-C01 Study Tips from Top Performers

1Map every service to a real-world architecture trade-off rather than memorizing definitions; SAE-C01 is heavily scenario-based
2Master multi-region patterns: CEN Transit Router, Global Accelerator, Anycast EIP, and PolarDB GDN with write forwarding
3Practice cloud-native architectures using ACK Pro, ASK, Service Mesh (ASM), MSE Nacos, Sentinel, and GTS for distributed transactions
4Study security and compliance frameworks (MLPS, GDPR, ISO 27001) and how RAM attribute-based access control + IDaaS federation enable zero trust
5Practice lakehouse and real-time data architectures combining MaxCompute, Hologres, DLF, Realtime Compute for Apache Flink, and PAI-EAS

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the SAE-C01 exam format?

The Alibaba Cloud Solutions Architect Expert exam (SAE-C01) consists of 100 multiple-choice questions delivered over 120 minutes at Pearson VUE test centers. The passing score is 80 out of 100. The exam is offered in English.

How much does the SAE-C01 exam cost?

The SAE-C01 exam fee is $280 USD per attempt and is non-refundable. Candidates must wait 14 days between any two Alibaba Cloud professional exam attempts.

Does SAE-C01 replace the ACE Cloud Computing certification?

Yes. The Alibaba Cloud Solutions Architect (Expert) certification (SAE-C01) is the 2025 refresh that replaces the legacy ACE Cloud Computing certification, which was retired on May 13, 2025.

What are the prerequisites for SAE-C01?

Alibaba Cloud Academy recommends passing the Cloud Architect (Professional) certification first or holding equivalent expert-level architecture experience. Recommended preparation includes the 3-day classroom training course in English.

What domains does the SAE-C01 exam cover?

SAE-C01 covers Public Cloud Architectures, Compute Services, Networking Services, Storage Services, Database Services, Security Services, Cloud Native Services, Hybrid Cloud, and Data/AI Architecture. Specific percentage weights are not published by Alibaba Cloud Academy.

How should I study for the SAE-C01 exam?

Focus on expert architecture trade-offs rather than basic service definitions. Practice multi-region active-active designs (CEN, GA, PolarDB GDN), cloud-native patterns (ACK, ASM, GTS, Sentinel), security and compliance (RAM ABAC, MLPS, zero trust), and lakehouse data architectures (MaxCompute, Hologres, DLF, Flink, PAI-EAS) with scenario-based questions.