DOP-C02 Incident and Event Response Practice Question
A DevOps engineer receives a CloudWatch alarm that the 'StatusCheckFailed' metric for an EC2 instance is in ALARM state. The instance is part of an Auto Scaling group. What should the engineer do first to restore service?
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
✓
Wait for Auto Scaling to replace the instance
The Auto Scaling group automatically replaces unhealthy instances based on EC2 status checks. Options A, C, and D are incorrect: Updating the launch configuration does not fix existing instances; manually terminating is unnecessary as Auto Scaling handles it; and rebooting may not resolve underlying issues.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Update the Auto Scaling group's launch configuration
Why it's wrong here
Updating the Auto Scaling group's launch configuration (or launch template) defines the configuration for future instances only. It has no effect on an already-running instance that is failing status checks. Because the replacement instance will be launched with the same launch configuration anyway, changing it does not address the current failure and is not the correct first response.
- ✓
Wait for Auto Scaling to replace the instance
Why this is correct
Auto Scaling is configured to use EC2 status checks for health, so it will detect the instance's failed status check and automatically terminate it, launching a new instance with the same launch configuration to maintain desired capacity. Waiting is the correct action because the replacement process is fully automated and requires no manual intervention. The new instance will be created once the unhealthy instance is marked as unhealthy, typically within a few minutes.
- ✗
Manually terminate the instance
Why it's wrong here
Manually terminating the instance is an unnecessary action because the Auto Scaling group's health checks have already marked the instance unhealthy based on the EC2 status check failure. Auto Scaling will automatically launch a replacement instance as part of its replacement policy. Intervening manually does not speed up recovery and can interfere with lifecycle hooks or health check grace periods.
- ✗
Reboot the instance
Why it's wrong here
Rebooting the instance might resolve a temporary issue, but it does not address the underlying system problem that caused the status check to fail. Since the instance is part of an Auto Scaling group, the expected recovery path is for Auto Scaling to terminate and replace the instance, not for a manual reboot. Rebooting before allowing the health check to trigger replacement can delay the automated recovery process and is not the recommended action.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.