This DOP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of monitoring and logging. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 set up an alert for when the CPU utilization of an EC2 instance exceeds 90% for 5 consecutive minutes. Which CloudWatch features should be used?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
CloudWatch alarm on the CPUUtilization metric with a period of 5 minutes and threshold of 90.
Option B is correct because a CloudWatch alarm can monitor a metric and trigger an action when a threshold is breached for a specified period. Option A is wrong because CloudWatch Logs does not directly monitor CPU utilization. Option C is wrong because CloudTrail records API calls, not metrics. Option D is wrong because S3 does not provide monitoring or alerting.
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.
✗
CloudWatch Logs with a metric filter on CPU utilization logs.
CloudWatch alarm on the CPUUtilization metric with a period of 5 minutes and threshold of 90.
Why this is correct
Alarms evaluate metrics over time and trigger actions.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Amazon S3 server access logs to check CPU utilization.
Why it's wrong here
S3 logs are for object access, not CPU.
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 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
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: CloudWatch alarm on the CPUUtilization metric with a period of 5 minutes and threshold of 90. — Option B is correct because a CloudWatch alarm can monitor a metric and trigger an action when a threshold is breached for a specified period. Option A is wrong because CloudWatch Logs does not directly monitor CPU utilization. Option C is wrong because CloudTrail records API calls, not metrics. Option D is wrong because S3 does not provide monitoring or alerting.
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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