SOA-C02 Practice Test 31 — 15 Questions

Question 1

An organization is using AWS CodeDeploy with a blue/green deployment configuration for an EC2/On-Premises compute platform. During a deployment, the new instances pass all health checks, but the old instances are not terminated after the deployment completes. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The deployment configuration specifies 'Reroute traffic to new instances and keep old instances running' with no termination.. The correct answer is A because in blue/green deployments, the user must specify how long to wait before terminating old instances. Option B is incorrect because CodeDeploy does not enforce a cooldown. Option C is incorrect because the new instances passed health checks. Option D is incorrect because the deployment succeeded, so no rollback.

Answer

The Auto Scaling group has a cooldown period that prevents termination.

Answer

The new instances failed the initial health check.

Answer

The deployment was rolled back automatically.

Question 2

A SysOps administrator wants to automate the creation of an Amazon RDS MySQL instance using AWS CloudFormation. Which CloudFormation resource type should be used?

Accepted Answer

AWS::RDS::DBInstance. Option B is correct because AWS::RDS::DBInstance is the resource for creating an RDS instance. Option A is wrong because that is for AppStream. Option C is wrong because that is for DynamoDB. Option D is wrong because that is for Redshift.

Answer

AWS::DynamoDB::Table

Answer

AWS::AppStream::DirectoryConfig

Answer

AWS::Redshift::Cluster

Question 3

A SysOps administrator updates a CloudFormation stack to change the EC2 instance type from t2.micro to t3.medium. The update fails with the error shown. What is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The t3.medium instance type is not available in the specified Availability Zone.. Option A is correct because the error message explicitly states that the instance type is not supported in the Availability Zone. Option B is wrong because the error does not mention insufficient capacity. Option C is wrong because the error does not mention AMI. Option D is wrong because the error does not mention parameter validation.

Answer

The account does not have service limits to launch a t3.medium instance.

Answer

The AMI used does not support the t3.medium instance type.

Answer

The CloudFormation template has a parameter constraint that rejects t3.medium.

Question 4

A CloudFormation template launches an EC2 instance with the user data script shown. The instance launches successfully but the web server does not serve PHP pages. What is the MOST likely reason?

Accepted Answer

The script does not install PHP.. Option D is correct because the script installs Apache (httpd) but does not install PHP. The script writes a PHP file but PHP is not installed. Option A is wrong because the script is base64 encoded correctly. Option B is wrong because the script runs as root, so permissions are fine. Option C is wrong because the script exists; the instance launches.

Answer

The script does not have execute permissions.

Answer

The CloudFormation template is missing a DependsOn clause for the instance.

Answer

The user data script is not base64 encoded correctly.

Question 5

A company uses AWS Elastic Beanstalk to deploy a web application. The environment is running low on memory, and the administrator needs to change the instance type from t2.micro to t3.small. What is the correct way to perform this change with minimal downtime?

Accepted Answer

Modify the instance type in the Elastic Beanstalk environment's configuration.. Elastic Beanstalk environments can be updated by changing the instance type in the environment configuration. The environment will perform a rolling update, replacing instances one by one to minimize downtime. Option A is correct. Option B is wrong because terminating and recreating causes downtime. Option C is wrong because modifying Auto Scaling groups directly is not supported by Elastic Beanstalk. Option D is wrong because rolling update is the default behavior.

Answer

Terminate the environment and create a new one with the desired instance type.

Answer

Create a new environment and perform a swap URL.

Answer

Manually modify the Auto Scaling group's launch configuration.

Question 6

A company uses AWS OpsWorks to manage a stack of application servers. The administrator needs to automate the deployment of a new application version. Which of the following are valid methods to trigger a deployment in OpsWorks? (Choose THREE.)

Accepted Answer

Use OpsWorks lifecycle events like 'Deploy' to run recipes.. OpsWorks supports multiple deployment triggers: using the AWS CLI, using lifecycle events, and using the console. Option A, C, and D are correct. Option B is wrong because CloudWatch Events can trigger deployments via custom events, but SNS topics themselves do not directly trigger deployments unless integrated via custom scripts. Option E is wrong because OpsWorks does not have a direct integration with CodePipeline; it can be done via custom scripts.

Answer

Configure an Amazon SNS topic to trigger the deployment.

Answer

Use AWS CodePipeline to directly deploy to OpsWorks.

Question 7

A company is using AWS CloudFormation to deploy a web application. The stack creation fails with the error 'Resource creation cancelled' for an EC2 instance. The instance type is t3.micro, and the AMI ID is specified in the template. Which of the following is the most likely cause of the failure?

Accepted Answer

The account has reached the vCPU limit for On-Demand Instances in the region.. The error 'Resource creation cancelled' indicates that the instance launch was aborted, likely due to reaching the vCPU limit (On-Demand Instance limit per region). The t3.micro instance consumes vCPUs; if the account has a standard limit of 5 vCPUs, launching a t3.micro (2 vCPUs) might exceed the limit if other instances are running. Option A is correct because CloudFormation does not automatically request a limit increase. Option B is wrong because the AMI ID is specified, so no default AMI is used. Option C is wrong because t3.micro is supported. Option D is wrong because the instance type is valid.

Answer

The instance type 't3.micro' is not available in the region.

Answer

The instance type is invalid for the specified AMI.

Answer

The AMI ID is not specified for the region.

Question 8

A SysOps administrator is setting up an AWS Elastic Beanstalk environment for a Node.js application. The administrator wants to ensure that environment variables are set for the application. Which of the following methods can be used to set environment variables in Elastic Beanstalk? (Choose TWO.)

Accepted Answer

Use the AWS CLI command update-environment.. Environment variables can be set in the Elastic Beanstalk console under Configuration > Software, or via the AWS CLI using the update-environment command. Option A and D are correct. Option B is wrong because the EB CLI does not support setting environment variables directly; it uses configuration files. Option C is wrong because the AppSpec file is for CodeDeploy, not Elastic Beanstalk. Option E is wrong because CloudFormation templates are not used directly in Elastic Beanstalk for environment variables.

Answer

Use a CloudFormation template to set environment variables.

Answer

Include them in the AppSpec file.

Answer

Define them in the EB CLI configuration file.

Question 9

A SysOps administrator is automating the creation of Amazon RDS DB instances using AWS CloudFormation. The template includes a DB instance with a Multi-AZ deployment. During a stack update, the administrator changes the DB instance class from db.t3.small to db.t3.medium. What is the expected behavior during the update?

Accepted Answer

RDS will modify the standby instance first, then fail over to it, and finally modify the original primary, resulting in minimal downtime.. When modifying a DB instance class for a Multi-AZ deployment, AWS RDS performs a rolling upgrade: it modifies the standby first, then triggers a failover to make the standby the new primary, and then modifies the old primary. Option B correctly describes this process with minimal downtime. Option A is wrong because a reboot is required after the modification. Option C is wrong because the modification does not happen without downtime. Option D is wrong because RDS does not create a new instance for a class change.

Answer

RDS will create a new DB instance with the new class and delete the old one.

Answer

RDS will modify both instances simultaneously, causing a brief outage.

Answer

The update will fail because CloudFormation cannot modify a Multi-AZ DB instance class.

Question 10

An organization wants to automate the creation of AWS resources using AWS CloudFormation. They need to ensure that certain resources, such as an Amazon S3 bucket, are not accidentally deleted when the stack is deleted. Which CloudFormation feature should they use?

Accepted Answer

DeletionPolicy attribute with value 'Retain'. The DeletionPolicy attribute with value 'Retain' ensures that the resource is retained even if the stack is deleted. Option D is correct. Option A is wrong because the stack policy controls updates, not deletion. Option B is wrong because 'Protect' is not a valid DeletionPolicy value. Option C is wrong because 'Delete' is the default behavior, which would delete the bucket.

Answer

DeletionPolicy attribute with value 'Protect'

Answer

DeletionPolicy attribute with value 'Delete'

Answer

Stack policy

Question 11

A SysOps administrator is creating a CloudFormation stack and receives the error shown in the exhibit. The template snippet for the Auto Scaling group is:

"MyAutoScalingGroup": {
  "Type": "AWS::AutoScaling::AutoScalingGroup",
  "Properties": {
    "MinSize": "1",
    "MaxSize": "5",
    "DesiredCapacity": "2",
    ...
  }
}

Accepted Answer

The MinSize value must be specified as an integer, not a string.. The error states that MinSize must be of type Number, but the template provides a string value '1'. CloudFormation expects integer values for MinSize, MaxSize, and DesiredCapacity. Option B is correct. Option A is wrong because the desired capacity is also a string, but the error specifically mentions MinSize. Option C is wrong because the metric type is not relevant. Option D is wrong because the values are within range.

Answer

The DesiredCapacity value must be less than MinSize.

Answer

The MinSize value exceeds the MaxSize value.

Answer

The Auto Scaling group must have a scaling policy.

Question 12

A company runs a critical application on a fleet of EC2 instances in an Auto Scaling group. The application is deployed using a blue/green deployment strategy with AWS CodeDeploy. The green environment fails immediately after deployment, and the deployment is automatically rolled back. However, the rollback also fails because the original blue environment's Auto Scaling group has been scaled down. What should the SysOps administrator do to prevent this issue in future deployments?

Accepted Answer

Set the original environment termination delay to a longer duration in the CodeDeploy deployment group.. Option D is correct because the blue/green deployment in CodeDeploy allows you to specify how long to keep the original (blue) environment after a successful deployment. Setting this to a sufficient duration ensures the blue environment is available for rollback. Option A is incorrect because it changes the deployment type, not the root cause. Option B is incorrect because increasing the minimum size does not guarantee the blue environment retains instances. Option C is incorrect because it deletes the green environment, which may be needed for rollback.

Answer

Configure the deployment to automatically delete the green environment after rollback.

Answer

Increase the minimum size of the Auto Scaling group.

Answer

Change the deployment type to in-place.

Question 13

A SysOps administrator is deploying a new version of an application using AWS CodeDeploy with an in-place deployment configuration. The deployment group consists of EC2 instances behind an Application Load Balancer. The administrator wants to ensure that traffic is gradually shifted to the new version. Which CodeDeploy feature should be used?

Accepted Answer

Configure the load balancer deregistration delay and re-registration in the deployment group.. The load balancer deregistration delay and re-registration are configured in the deployment group settings. By enabling load balancing and setting the deregistration delay, CodeDeploy will deregister instances from the load balancer, deploy the new version, and re-register them after a health check. Option C is correct. Option A is wrong because the deployment configuration sets the speed, not traffic shifting. Option B is wrong because the AppSpec file defines hooks, not traffic shifting. Option D is wrong because a canary deployment is a different deployment type, not a feature of in-place.

Answer

Use a canary deployment instead of in-place.

Answer

Define a BeforeInstall hook to deregister instances.

Answer

Use a linear deployment configuration.

Question 14

A SysOps administrator is automating the deployment of a web application using AWS CloudFormation. The application requires an Application Load Balancer (ALB) and an Auto Scaling group. The administrator wants to ensure that the Auto Scaling group registers instances with the ALB automatically. Which of the following are required? (Choose TWO.)

Accepted Answer

A launch template or launch configuration that defines the AMI and instance type.. To automatically register instances with an ALB, the Auto Scaling group must have a target group ARN specified, and the launch template or configuration must use an AMI that supports the ALB's health checks. Option B and D are correct. Option A is wrong because a load balancer is created separately, but the Auto Scaling group needs the target group. Option C is wrong because the health check grace period is optional. Option E is wrong because the security group is not directly related to automatic registration.

Answer

A health check grace period set in the Auto Scaling group.

Answer

A security group that allows traffic from the ALB.

Answer

An Application Load Balancer created in the same stack.

Question 15

A company uses AWS Elastic Beanstalk to deploy a web application. The environment needs to be updated with a new application version. The SysOps administrator wants to minimize downtime during the deployment. Which deployment policy should be used?

Accepted Answer

Rolling with an additional batch. Option D is correct because a rolling update with an additional batch creates new instances before terminating old ones, minimizing downtime. Option A is incorrect because all-at-once causes downtime. Option B is incorrect because immutable deployments create a full new set of instances, which can be costly but also minimizes downtime, but rolling with additional batch is more cost-effective. Option C is incorrect because rolling update based on health does not add extra instances, so there is a brief period with reduced capacity.

Answer

Rolling based on health

Answer

Immutable

Answer

All at once