DVA-C02 Deployment Practice Question
Network Topology
Refer to the exhibit. A developer tried to create a CloudFormation stack that includes an EC2 instance. The stack creation failed and rolled back. What should the developer do to get more details about the failure?
⚠ Common exam trap
DVA-C02 often tests whether candidates know that stack events (not template syntax or drift detection) contain the runtime failure reason, and candidates sometimes pick drift detection because it sounds diagnostic.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Run `aws cloudformation describe-stack-events` for the stack.
When a CloudFormation stack fails and rolls back, the authoritative source of failure details is the stack events log. Running aws cloudformation describe-stack-events returns the ordered event stream, including the specific resource that failed and the status reason containing the underlying error message.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Review the CloudFormation template syntax.
Why it's wrong here
A pure syntax error (invalid YAML/JSON structure) is caught during CloudFormation's template validation phase before any resources are provisioned, producing a ValidationError at submission time rather than a stack that begins creating resources and then rolls back.
- ✗
Use the `detect-stack-drift` command.
Why it's wrong here
detect-stack-drift compares the current configuration of already-provisioned, successfully created resources against the template's declared state to find manual out-of-band changes; it has no function for a stack that failed during initial creation and rolled back.
- ✓
Run `aws cloudformation describe-stack-events` for the stack.
Why this is correct
describe-stack-events returns the chronological, resource-by-resource event log including the exact CREATE_FAILED status reason (such as an invalid AMI ID, insufficient IAM permissions, or a capacity error) for each logical resource, making it the direct way to identify the root cause.
- ✗
Update the stack with the same template to see the error.
Why it's wrong here
Because CloudFormation stacks that fail creation roll back to a deleted (or ROLLBACK_COMPLETE) state, re-running an update with the identical template reproduces the same underlying error without exposing any new diagnostic information, wasting time rather than revealing the cause.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Amazon Web Services exam blueprint
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.