The correct answer is the CPUUtilization metric with the Average statistic, filtered by the Auto Scaling group. This works because CloudWatch aggregates the CPUUtilization metric across all EC2 instances in the group when you apply the Average statistic, giving you the mean CPU load for the entire fleet rather than a per-instance view. On the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional DOP-C02 exam, this tests your understanding of how CloudWatch metric math and statistics operate at the group level, a common scenario for dashboard monitoring. A frequent trap is selecting the Sum statistic, which would total CPU percentages across instances—producing a misleadingly high number—instead of averaging them. Remember the mnemonic: “Average for the group, Sum for the pool” to avoid mixing up aggregation functions when designing Auto Scaling group dashboards.
DOP-C02 Monitoring and Logging Practice Question
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 sets up a CloudWatch dashboard to monitor an application's performance. The application runs on EC2 instances in an Auto Scaling group. The engineer wants to display the average CPU utilization across all instances in the group. Which CloudWatch metric and statistic 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
✓
CPUUtilization metric with the Average statistic, filtered by Auto Scaling group.
Option B is correct because the CPUUtilization metric with the Average statistic across the Auto Scaling group provides the desired average. Option A is wrong because the Sum statistic would total the CPU across instances, not average. Option C is wrong because NetworkOut is not CPU-related. Option D is wrong because StatusCheckFailed is a different metric.
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.
✗
CPUUtilization metric with the Sum statistic, filtered by Auto Scaling group.
Why it's wrong here
Sum would add all CPU utilization values, not average them.
✓
CPUUtilization metric with the Average statistic, filtered by Auto Scaling group.
Why this is correct
Average statistic with the Auto Scaling group dimension gives the average CPU across all instances.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
StatusCheckFailed metric with the Average statistic, filtered by Auto Scaling group.
Why it's wrong here
StatusCheckFailed is a status check metric, not CPU.
✗
NetworkOut metric with the Average statistic, filtered by Auto Scaling group.
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 healthcare organisation deploys an application with a public-facing web tier and a private database tier. The database subnet has no public IP and only accepts connections from the web tier's security group. Questions like this test whether you can design cloud network isolation using VNets/VPCs, subnets, and security group rules.
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: CPUUtilization metric with the Average statistic, filtered by Auto Scaling group. — Option B is correct because the CPUUtilization metric with the Average statistic across the Auto Scaling group provides the desired average. Option A is wrong because the Sum statistic would total the CPU across instances, not average. Option C is wrong because NetworkOut is not CPU-related. Option D is wrong because StatusCheckFailed is a different metric.
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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