The correct first step is to use CloudWatch Logs Insights to query the application logs on the EC2 instances for any scheduled tasks or jobs running at 2:00 PM. This is the right approach because CloudWatch Logs Insights allows you to run SQL-like queries across log data from your instances, enabling you to correlate specific timestamps with process activity or cron jobs that could be driving the CPU spike. On the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional DOP-C02 exam, this question tests your ability to prioritize investigation over remediation—a common trap is jumping to scale up instances or check CloudTrail, but CloudTrail logs API calls, not CPU usage, and resizing is a fix, not a diagnostic. The key distinction is that CloudWatch Logs Insights queries the logs on the instances themselves, while metrics only show the symptom. Remember the mnemonic: “Logs before sizes”—always query logs to find the root cause before changing infrastructure.
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 company runs a production web application on Amazon EC2 instances that are part of an Auto Scaling group. The instances are behind an Application Load Balancer. The DevOps team has enabled detailed CloudWatch metrics and set up a CloudWatch dashboard to monitor the application. Recently, the team noticed that the CPU Utilization metric for the Auto Scaling group shows a spike every day at 2:00 PM, but the application performance remains normal. The team wants to investigate the cause of the CPU spike. What should the team do FIRST to identify the root cause?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "first"
Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use CloudWatch Logs Insights to query the application logs on the instances to identify any scheduled tasks or jobs running at 2:00 PM.
Option A is correct because CloudWatch Logs Insights can query instance logs to identify processes causing high CPU. Option B is wrong because increasing instance size is not a first step for investigation. Option C is wrong because a cron job may be the cause, but the first step is to check logs. Option D is wrong because CloudTrail logs API calls, not CPU usage.
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.
✗
Enable AWS CloudTrail to log all API calls to the instances.
Why it's wrong here
CloudTrail logs API calls, not CPU usage or processes on instances.
✓
Use CloudWatch Logs Insights to query the application logs on the instances to identify any scheduled tasks or jobs running at 2:00 PM.
Why this is correct
Logs Insights allows querying logs from EC2 instances, which can reveal scheduled tasks causing CPU spikes.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Disable any scheduled tasks on the instances to see if the spike stops.
Why it's wrong here
Disabling tasks without investigation could disrupt operations; first, identify the cause.
✗
Increase the instance size to provide more CPU capacity to handle the spike.
Why it's wrong here
This might mask the issue but does not identify the root cause and is not the first step.
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 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. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. 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
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: Use CloudWatch Logs Insights to query the application logs on the instances to identify any scheduled tasks or jobs running at 2:00 PM. — Option A is correct because CloudWatch Logs Insights can query instance logs to identify processes causing high CPU. Option B is wrong because increasing instance size is not a first step for investigation. Option C is wrong because a cron job may be the cause, but the first step is to check logs. Option D is wrong because CloudTrail logs API calls, not CPU usage.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "first". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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