Quick Answer
The answer is an Amazon SNS topic, the StatusCheckFailed metric, and a CloudWatch alarm. This combination works because the CloudWatch alarm monitors the StatusCheckFailed metric for the EC2 instance, and when the threshold of two consecutive minutes of failure is breached, it triggers the alarm state, which then publishes a message to the configured SNS topic to deliver the alert via email, SMS, or other endpoints. On the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional DOP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of the core monitoring triad: metric selection, alarm logic, and notification delivery. A common trap is confusing CloudWatch Logs (for log data) or CloudWatch Events (for event-driven triggers) with metric-based alarms. Remember the mnemonic "MAS" — Metric, Alarm, SNS — to recall the three required resources for any status check failure alert setup.
This DOP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of incident and event response. 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 uses Amazon CloudWatch for monitoring. The operations team wants to receive an alert when an EC2 instance's status check fails for 2 consecutive minutes. Which THREE resources should the team configure? (Choose three.)
CloudWatch Events rule
Why wrong: Events are for event-driven patterns, not metric alarms.
CloudWatch Logs
Why wrong: Logs are for log data, not metric-based alarms.
CloudWatch alarm
Alarm monitors the metric and triggers actions.
EC2 StatusCheckFailed metric
This metric reports instance status checks.
Amazon SNS topic
SNS is used to send notifications when alarm triggers.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
CloudWatch alarm
Option A is correct because a CloudWatch alarm triggers based on a metric. Option C is correct because the 'StatusCheckFailed' metric is the correct metric to monitor instance health. Option D is correct because an SNS topic is needed to send notifications. Option B is wrong because CloudWatch Logs is for log data, not metrics. Option E is wrong because CloudWatch Events is for scheduling or event patterns, but not for metric alarms.
Key principle: NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
CloudWatch Events rule
Why it's wrong here
Events are for event-driven patterns, not metric alarms.
CloudWatch Logs
Why it's wrong here
Logs are for log data, not metric-based alarms.
CloudWatch alarm
EC2 StatusCheckFailed metric
Amazon SNS topic
Why this is correct
SNS is used to send notifications when alarm triggers.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
Common exam traps
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Detailed technical explanation
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
Key takeaway
NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Real-world example
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. NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated. 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
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related DOP-C02 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Incident and Event Response — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Incident and Event Response — This question tests Incident and Event Response — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
The correct answer is: CloudWatch alarm — Option A is correct because a CloudWatch alarm triggers based on a metric. Option C is correct because the 'StatusCheckFailed' metric is the correct metric to monitor instance health. Option D is correct because an SNS topic is needed to send notifications. Option B is wrong because CloudWatch Logs is for log data, not metrics. Option E is wrong because CloudWatch Events is for scheduling or event patterns, but not for metric alarms.
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related DOP-C02 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
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Last reviewed: Jun 20, 2026
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.
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