SOA-C02 Reliability and Business Continuity Practice Test 14 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A SysOps administrator deploys the above CloudFormation template. The stack creation fails with an error. What is the most likely reason?

Accepted Answer

The VolumeAttachment resource is missing the Device property.. Option B is correct because the VolumeAttachment resource requires the Device property, which is missing. Option A is wrong because AWS::EC2::Volume does not require a snapshot. Option C is wrong because the format is correct. Option D is wrong because the AvailabilityZone is specified for both the instance and volume.

Answer

The EBS volume must specify a SnapshotId.

Answer

The template uses a deprecated AWSTemplateFormatVersion.

Answer

The instance and volume are in different Availability Zones.

Question 2

A company is designing a highly available web application on AWS. The application runs on EC2 instances behind an Application Load Balancer. Which configuration ensures that the application remains available if an entire AWS Availability Zone fails?

Accepted Answer

Launch EC2 instances in at least two different Availability Zones.. Option C is correct because deploying EC2 instances across multiple Availability Zones ensures that if one AZ fails, the load balancer can route traffic to instances in the other AZ. Option A is wrong because multiple subnets in the same AZ do not protect against AZ failure. Option B is wrong because multiple VPCs add complexity but do not inherently provide AZ redundancy. Option D is wrong because a larger instance type does not address AZ failure.

Answer

Deploy EC2 instances in multiple subnets of the same Availability Zone.

Answer

Use a larger EC2 instance type to handle the load.

Answer

Use EC2 instances in multiple AWS Regions.

Question 3

A SysOps administrator needs to implement a backup strategy for an Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL database. The database is 500 GB and experiences heavy write traffic. Which solution provides the most cost-effective backup with the least impact on database performance?

Accepted Answer

Enable automated backups with a retention period of 7 days.. Option B is correct because automated backups are enabled by default with minimal performance impact and include transaction logs for point-in-time recovery. Option A is wrong because manual snapshots require a brief I/O suspension and are less automated. Option C is wrong because read replicas are for read scaling, not backups. Option D is wrong because exporting to S3 via AWS DMS incurs additional cost and complexity.

Answer

Create a Multi-AZ deployment and use the standby for backups.

Answer

Use AWS Database Migration Service to continuously replicate data to an S3 bucket.

Answer

Take manual DB snapshots daily during off-peak hours.

Question 4

A company runs a stateful web application on EC2 instances in an Auto Scaling group behind an Application Load Balancer. Users report that their sessions are frequently lost during scaling events. What is the MOST effective solution to maintain session persistence?

Accepted Answer

Enable sticky sessions (session affinity) on the Application Load Balancer.. Option D is correct because enabling sticky sessions (session affinity) on the ALB ensures that a user's requests are routed to the same instance during a session. Option A is wrong because increasing the cooldown delay does not solve session loss during scale-in. Option B is wrong while helpful for state offloading, it does not address the immediate issue of session persistence; a full rewrite may be needed. Option C is wrong because a larger instance size does not prevent session loss when instances are terminated.

Answer

Increase the cooldown period for the Auto Scaling group.

Answer

Modify the application to store session data in an external data store such as ElastiCache or DynamoDB.

Answer

Use larger EC2 instance types to reduce the frequency of scaling.

Question 5

A company has an S3 bucket that stores critical financial data. The bucket versioning is enabled. A SysOps administrator needs to ensure that data can be recovered after accidental deletion by users. What is the MOST effective way to protect against accidental deletion?

Accepted Answer

Enable MFA Delete on the S3 bucket.. Option C is correct because MFA Delete adds an extra layer of protection, requiring multi-factor authentication to permanently delete objects. Option A is wrong because lifecycle policies automate transitions, not deletion prevention. Option B is wrong because bucket policies control access but do not prevent deletion by authorized users. Option D is wrong because cross-region replication provides disaster recovery, not protection against accidental deletion.

Answer

Configure a lifecycle policy to transition objects to Glacier after 30 days.

Answer

Apply a bucket policy that denies s3:DeleteObject for all users.

Answer

Replicate objects to another S3 bucket in a different AWS Region.

Question 6

A company runs a production database on Amazon RDS for MySQL with Multi-AZ enabled. During a recent Availability Zone outage, the database experienced a failover. After the failover, the application team notices that the database endpoint in the connection string no longer works. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The application is using the IP address of the database instance instead of the DNS endpoint.. Option A is correct because the DNS name for an RDS instance automatically resolves to the primary instance; after failover, the DNS is updated to point to the new primary, so the endpoint should still work. Option B is wrong because the CNAME is automatically updated by AWS. Option C is wrong because the DB instance identifier does not change. Option D is wrong because the security group rules apply to the RDS instance, not the connection string.

Answer

The DB instance identifier changed after the failover.

Answer

The security group for the RDS instance was modified during the failover.

Answer

The DNS CNAME record for the RDS endpoint was manually changed.

Question 7

A company runs a critical application on an EC2 instance that stores data on an EBS volume. The SysOps administrator needs to implement a backup strategy that provides the ability to restore the volume to a specific point in time within the last 24 hours, with a recovery time objective (RTO) of less than 15 minutes. Which solution meets these requirements?

Accepted Answer

Schedule EBS snapshots every hour and keep them for 24 hours.. Option C is correct because EBS Snapshots are point-in-time backups that can be used to create a new volume and attach it to an instance within minutes. Option A is wrong because automated backups are not available for EBS volumes. Option B is wrong because AWS Backup supports EBS snapshots but adds no advantage for RTO; snapshots still need to be restored. Option D is wrong because RAID 1 mirrors data but does not provide point-in-time recovery.

Answer

Configure a RAID 1 mirror of the EBS volume across two Availability Zones.

Answer

Enable automated backups on the EC2 instance.

Answer

Use AWS Backup to create backup plans for the EBS volume.

Question 8

A company has a fleet of EC2 instances that need to be patched monthly. The SysOps administrator must ensure that the patching process does not affect the availability of the application. Which strategy should the administrator use?

Accepted Answer

Use an Auto Scaling group with a rolling update strategy.. Option B is correct because using an Auto Scaling group with a rolling update will replace instances one at a time, ensuring that the application remains available. Option A is wrong because stopping all instances at once causes downtime. Option C is wrong because patching one instance manually is not automated and still risks downtime if the instance is needed. Option D is wrong because AWS Systems Manager Patch Manager can patch instances but without rolling update, it may cause downtime if all instances are patched simultaneously.

Answer

Patch one instance at a time manually by stopping and starting.

Answer

Use AWS Systems Manager Patch Manager to patch all instances at once.

Answer

Stop all instances, apply patches, then start them.

Question 9

A company runs a web application on EC2 instances in an Auto Scaling group behind an Application Load Balancer. The application stores session data locally on each instance. During a traffic spike, the Auto Scaling group launches new instances, but users report that they are logged out and lose session data. Which solution addresses this issue without modifying the application?

Accepted Answer

Enable sticky sessions (session affinity) on the Application Load Balancer.. Option D is correct because enabling sticky sessions on the ALB ensures that users are routed to the same instance, preserving session data even as instances are added or removed. Option A is wrong because increasing the cooldown period does not preserve sessions during scaling. Option B is wrong, while it offloads state to ElastiCache, it requires application changes. Option C is wrong because a larger instance size reduces scaling frequency but does not prevent session loss when instances are terminated.

Answer

Modify the application to use ElastiCache for session storage.

Answer

Increase the cooldown period for the Auto Scaling group.

Answer

Use larger EC2 instance types to handle the traffic spike.

Question 10

A company uses Amazon S3 to store backup data. The SysOps administrator needs to ensure that the data is protected against accidental deletion by users with administrative privileges. Which combination of actions should the administrator take? (Choose TWO.)

Accepted Answer

Enable MFA Delete on the S3 bucket.. Options B and D are correct because enabling MFA Delete requires additional authentication to delete objects, and enabling versioning allows recovery of deleted objects via previous versions. Option A is wrong because bucket policies cannot differentiate between accidental and intentional deletion by authorized users. Option C is wrong because lifecycle policies manage storage classes, not deletion protection. Option E is wrong because CloudTrail logs provide auditing but do not prevent deletion.

Answer

Apply an S3 bucket policy that denies s3:DeleteObject for all users.

Answer

Configure a lifecycle policy to transition objects to S3 Glacier.

Answer

Enable AWS CloudTrail to log all S3 API calls.

Question 11

A company is designing a disaster recovery strategy for a production RDS for MySQL database. The database is currently single-AZ. The recovery point objective (RPO) is 1 hour, and the recovery time objective (RTO) is 15 minutes. Which steps should the SysOps administrator take to meet these requirements? (Choose THREE.)

Accepted Answer

Take manual DB snapshots every hour.. Options A, C, and E are correct. Enabling automated backups provides point-in-time recovery with an RPO of 5 minutes (within 1 hour requirement). Multi-AZ provides automatic failover with RTO typically under 1 minute (within 15 minutes). Taking regular manual snapshots complements automated backups for long-term retention. Option B is wrong because read replicas are for read scaling, not failover. Option D is wrong because disabling automated backups increases RPO.

Answer

Disable automated backups to reduce performance impact.

Answer

Create a read replica in a different Availability Zone.

Question 12

A company runs a stateless web application on EC2 instances behind an Application Load Balancer. The application is deployed in an Auto Scaling group with a minimum of 2 and maximum of 10 instances. During a traffic spike, the Auto Scaling group launches new instances, but the new instances are immediately marked as unhealthy by the ALB and terminated. What could be the cause? (Choose TWO.)

Accepted Answer

The health check path is misconfigured.. Options B and D are correct. If the health check path is incorrect, the ALB marks instances as unhealthy. If the security group does not allow traffic from the ALB, the health check fails. Option A is wrong because a missing IAM role does not cause health check failures. Option C is wrong because insufficient capacity would prevent launch, not cause health check failures. Option E is wrong because a larger instance would not cause health check failures.

Answer

The Auto Scaling group does not have sufficient capacity in the target AZ.

Answer

The instances do not have the required IAM role to register with the ALB.

Answer

The instances are launched with a larger instance type than expected.

Question 13

Refer to the exhibit. A SysOps administrator ran the commands shown. What is the state of the EC2 instance?

Accepted Answer

The instance is running but has a system impairment.. Option C is correct because the system status check indicates impaired reachability, which means the instance is running but not reachable. The instance state shows running, so it is not stopped or terminated. The impairment is due to a system issue, not an instance-specific issue like memory pressure (which would be instance status check).

Answer

The instance is running and healthy.

Answer

The instance is terminated.

Answer

The instance is stopped.

Question 14

Refer to the exhibit. An IAM policy is attached to an IAM user. Which action can the user perform?

Accepted Answer

Stop an EC2 instance.. Option C is correct because the IAM policy allows ec2:StopInstances and does not deny it. The denial is only for ec2:TerminateInstances. Option A is wrong because StartInstances is allowed. Option B is wrong because Describe* actions are allowed. Option D is wrong because TerminateInstances is explicitly denied.

Answer

Start an EC2 instance.

Answer

Describe EC2 instances.

Answer

Terminate an EC2 instance.

Question 15

Refer to the exhibit. A SysOps administrator deployed the CloudFormation template. Which statement is true about data protection?

Accepted Answer

Deleted objects become noncurrent versions and are retained for 30 days.. Option D is correct because the bucket policy only denies the DeleteBucket action, not DeleteObject. Users can still delete objects. Versioning is enabled, so deleted objects become noncurrent versions and are retained for 30 days. Option A is wrong because the bucket can be deleted by the account root user if not explicitly denied. Option B is wrong because the bucket policy does not block object deletion. Option C is wrong because versioning is enabled, so deleted objects become noncurrent versions, not permanently deleted immediately.

Answer

Deleted objects are immediately and permanently removed.

Answer

The bucket cannot be deleted by anyone.

Answer

Objects cannot be deleted from the bucket.

SOA-C02 Reliability and Business Continuity Practice Test 14 — 15 Questions

Exhibit

SOA-C02 Reliability and Business Continuity Practice Test 14 — 15 Questions

Exhibit