Quick Answer
The answer is the CloudWatchLogsFullAccess managed policy. This is correct because to grant an EC2 instance write access to CloudWatch Logs, the IAM role attached to the instance profile must include permissions for the specific actions required by the CloudWatch agent or SDK: logs:CreateLogGroup, logs:CreateLogStream, and logs:PutLogEvents. The CloudWatchLogsFullAccess policy bundles all of these necessary write permissions, ensuring the instance can successfully send log data without receiving an access denied error. On the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional DOP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of least-privilege versus managed policies for logging—a common trap is choosing a broader policy like AdministratorAccess or forgetting that the instance profile role, not the user role, needs the permissions. Remember the mnemonic "CLP" for the three required actions: CreateLogGroup, CreateLogStream, and PutLogEvents.
This DOP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of security and compliance. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 DevOps engineer needs to allow an EC2 instance to write logs to CloudWatch Logs. The instance is configured with an instance profile that has the following IAM role attached. Which additional policy is required?
AmazonSQSFullAccess
Why wrong: SQS not involved in writing logs to CloudWatch.
AmazonDynamoDBFullAccess
Why wrong: DynamoDB not needed for this task.
CloudWatchLogsFullAccess
Provides necessary permissions for writing logs.
AmazonS3FullAccess
Why wrong: S3 access not required for CloudWatch Logs.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
CloudWatchLogsFullAccess
The instance profile's IAM role must include permissions to create log groups, log streams, and put log events. The `CloudWatchLogsFullAccess` managed policy grants all necessary actions (e.g., `logs:CreateLogGroup`, `logs:CreateLogStream`, `logs:PutLogEvents`) for writing logs from an EC2 instance to CloudWatch Logs. Without this policy, the instance will receive an access denied error when the CloudWatch agent or SDK attempts to send log data.
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.
AmazonSQSFullAccess
Why it's wrong here
SQS not involved in writing logs to CloudWatch.
AmazonDynamoDBFullAccess
Why it's wrong here
DynamoDB not needed for this task.
CloudWatchLogsFullAccess
Why this is correct
Provides necessary permissions for writing logs.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
AmazonS3FullAccess
Why it's wrong here
S3 access not required for CloudWatch Logs.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates may assume any 'FullAccess' policy (like S3 or SQS) would work because they think logs are just files, but CloudWatch Logs is a distinct service with its own API and IAM actions, so only CloudWatch Logs-specific policies grant the required permissions.
Detailed technical explanation
Under the hood, the CloudWatch Logs agent (or newer unified CloudWatch agent) uses the AWS SDK to call `PutLogEvents` over HTTPS, which requires an IAM policy with `logs:PutLogEvents` on the specific log group and stream ARN. A common real-world scenario is when an application writes structured logs (e.g., JSON) and the agent fails silently if the IAM role lacks `logs:DescribeLogStreams` to discover the target stream, leading to data loss without obvious errors.
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.
What to study next
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Security and Compliance — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Security and Compliance — This question tests Security and Compliance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: CloudWatchLogsFullAccess — The instance profile's IAM role must include permissions to create log groups, log streams, and put log events. The `CloudWatchLogsFullAccess` managed policy grants all necessary actions (e.g., `logs:CreateLogGroup`, `logs:CreateLogStream`, `logs:PutLogEvents`) for writing logs from an EC2 instance to CloudWatch Logs. Without this policy, the instance will receive an access denied error when the CloudWatch agent or SDK attempts to send log data.
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
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