The answer is to increase the number of evaluation periods to 3, so the alarm triggers only if CPU is high for three consecutive periods. This works because CloudWatch evaluates each period as a single data point; by requiring three consecutive high periods, you effectively filter out short bursts of CPU activity that do not represent sustained load, directly addressing the need to reduce CloudWatch alarm false positives evaluation periods. On the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional DOP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how evaluation periods and datapoints interact to control alarm sensitivity—a common trap is confusing the period length (e.g., reducing it to 1 minute) with the number of evaluation periods, which actually increases false triggers. Remember the memory tip: "Three strikes and you're out" for sustained alarms, meaning more evaluation periods require longer sustained anomalies before firing.
DOP-C02 Monitoring and Logging Practice Question
This DOP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of monitoring and logging. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 runs a web application on an Auto Scaling group of EC2 instances. The operations team uses CloudWatch alarms to monitor the application. They have set up a CPUUtilization alarm that triggers when the average CPU exceeds 70% for 5 minutes. The alarm triggers a scaling policy to add instances. Recently, the team noticed that the alarm frequently triggers during the day, but the application performance is acceptable. They suspect the alarm is too sensitive and want to reduce the number of false alarms. The team wants to keep the alarm responsive to real CPU spikes but avoid triggering on short bursts. What should the team change in the alarm configuration?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Increase the number of evaluation periods to 3, so the alarm triggers only if CPU is high for 3 consecutive periods.
Option B is correct because increasing the evaluation periods requires sustained high CPU for a longer duration before triggering. Option A is wrong because reducing the period would increase sensitivity. Option C is wrong because lowering the threshold would make it more sensitive. Option D is wrong because a composite alarm is not needed; the issue is with the evaluation period.
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.
✗
Create a composite alarm that combines CPUUtilization with MemoryUtilization.
Why it's wrong here
MemoryUtilization is not directly related to CPU spikes; this would not address the sensitivity issue.
✗
Reduce the metric period to 1 minute and keep evaluation periods at 1.
Why it's wrong here
This would make the alarm trigger on shorter bursts, increasing false alarms.
✓
Increase the number of evaluation periods to 3, so the alarm triggers only if CPU is high for 3 consecutive periods.
Why this is correct
This filters out short bursts and requires sustained high CPU.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Lower the threshold to 60% to catch more CPU spikes.
Why it's wrong here
This would make the alarm trigger more often, increasing false alarms.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→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 cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which DOP-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Monitoring and Logging — This question tests Monitoring and Logging — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Increase the number of evaluation periods to 3, so the alarm triggers only if CPU is high for 3 consecutive periods. — Option B is correct because increasing the evaluation periods requires sustained high CPU for a longer duration before triggering. Option A is wrong because reducing the period would increase sensitivity. Option C is wrong because lowering the threshold would make it more sensitive. Option D is wrong because a composite alarm is not needed; the issue is with the evaluation period.
What should I do if I get this DOP-C02 question wrong?
Identify which DOP-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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This DOP-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 DOP-C02 exam.
Question Discussion
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