This DVA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of security. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company is using Amazon S3 to store sensitive documents. The security team requires that all access to the bucket be logged for audit purposes. Which feature should be enabled?
S3 server access logging
Server access logs record detailed information about requests.
Amazon CloudWatch Logs
Why wrong: CloudWatch Logs is not a feature of S3 for logging access.
S3 Inventory
Why wrong: Inventory lists objects and metadata, not access logs.
AWS CloudTrail
Why wrong: CloudTrail logs API calls but not all access details like object-level read/write.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
S3 server access logging
S3 server access logging provides detailed records for requests made to an S3 bucket, including the requester, bucket name, request time, action, and response status. This feature logs all access at the object level, which directly meets the audit requirement for sensitive documents. It delivers log files to a target bucket in a standardized format, enabling security teams to analyze access patterns and detect unauthorized activity.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
S3 server access logging
Why this is correct
Server access logs record detailed information about requests.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Amazon CloudWatch Logs
Why it's wrong here
CloudWatch Logs is not a feature of S3 for logging access.
S3 Inventory
Why it's wrong here
Inventory lists objects and metadata, not access logs.
AWS CloudTrail
Why it's wrong here
CloudTrail logs API calls but not all access details like object-level read/write.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse AWS CloudTrail (Option D) with S3 server access logging, assuming CloudTrail's data events provide the same granularity, but CloudTrail is designed for API call auditing and may miss certain access patterns (e.g., anonymous requests or cross-account access) unless explicitly configured, whereas S3 server access logging captures all requests by default.
Detailed technical explanation
S3 server access logs are delivered as log files to a target bucket, typically within a few hours, and include fields like the HTTP method (e.g., GET, PUT), the request URI, and the HTTP status code. Under the hood, each log entry is a space-delimited record following the S3 Server Access Log Format, which can be parsed using tools like Amazon Athena for querying. A real-world scenario is a financial institution that must retain access logs for seven years; enabling this feature ensures every read or write to the bucket is captured, even if the request originates from an IAM user, role, or anonymous source.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
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FAQ
Security — This question tests Security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: S3 server access logging — S3 server access logging provides detailed records for requests made to an S3 bucket, including the requester, bucket name, request time, action, and response status. This feature logs all access at the object level, which directly meets the audit requirement for sensitive documents. It delivers log files to a target bucket in a standardized format, enabling security teams to analyze access patterns and detect unauthorized activity.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
This DVA-C02 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the DVA-C02 exam.
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