This DVA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of deployment. 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 developer is using AWS CloudFormation to deploy a stack with multiple resources. To ensure that a specific EC2 instance is created only after a security group is created, the developer wants to define the dependency. How should the developer achieve this in the CloudFormation template?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use the DependsOn attribute on the EC2 instance resource
Option A is correct because the `DependsOn` attribute explicitly tells AWS CloudFormation to create the EC2 instance only after the security group has been successfully created. Without this explicit dependency, CloudFormation may attempt to create resources in parallel, which could cause the EC2 instance launch to fail if it references a security group that does not yet exist.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✓
Use the DependsOn attribute on the EC2 instance resource
Why this is correct
DependsOn explicitly defines that the EC2 instance depends on the security group, ensuring creation order.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use the Ref function to refer to the security group in the EC2 instance properties
Why it's wrong here
Ref creates an implicit dependency, but the question asks to 'define the dependency' explicitly, which is best done with DependsOn.
✗
Use the AWS::NoValue intrinsic function
Why it's wrong here
AWS::NoValue is used to remove a resource property, not to define dependencies.
✗
Use the Condition attribute on the EC2 instance
Why it's wrong here
Condition determines whether a resource is created, not the order of creation.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume that using `Ref` to reference a resource automatically creates a dependency, but CloudFormation only creates implicit dependencies when the reference is used in a property that directly requires the referenced resource's physical ID (e.g., `SecurityGroups`), not for all uses of `Ref`.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, CloudFormation uses a directed acyclic graph (DAG) to determine resource creation order. While implicit dependencies are automatically inferred when you use `Ref` or `Fn::GetAtt` in a resource's property, the `DependsOn` attribute forces an explicit edge in the DAG. This is particularly important when the dependency is not captured by a property reference—for example, when an EC2 instance depends on a security group but the security group ID is passed via a parameter or mapping rather than directly referenced.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A healthcare organisation deploys an application with a public-facing web tier and a private database tier. The database subnet has no public IP and only accepts connections from the web tier's security group. Questions like this test whether you can design cloud network isolation using VNets/VPCs, subnets, and security group rules.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Deployment — This question tests Deployment — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use the DependsOn attribute on the EC2 instance resource — Option A is correct because the `DependsOn` attribute explicitly tells AWS CloudFormation to create the EC2 instance only after the security group has been successfully created. Without this explicit dependency, CloudFormation may attempt to create resources in parallel, which could cause the EC2 instance launch to fail if it references a security group that does not yet exist.
What should I do if I get this DVA-C02 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.