DOP-C02 Configuration Management and IaC Practice Question
This DOP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of configuration management and iac. 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 DevOps team is using this IAM policy to allow a CI/CD pipeline to launch EC2 instances and retrieve parameters. However, the pipeline is failing with an 'AccessDenied' error when trying to create an instance. The pipeline uses a role with this policy attached. What is the most likely cause?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The policy does not grant permissions on additional resources required for RunInstances, such as images and network interfaces.
The correct answer is C. The IAM policy likely only grants permissions on the 'ec2:RunInstances' action for the EC2 instance resource (arn:aws:ec2:region:account:instance/*), but creating an EC2 instance also requires permissions on other resources such as Amazon Machine Images (AMI), security groups, network interfaces, subnets, etc. Without explicit permissions on these additional resources, the RunInstances call fails with AccessDenied. Option A is incorrect because the condition syntax does not cause an AccessDenied; it would simply not match if poorly formatted. Option B is incorrect because the ssm:GetParameter action is allowed by the policy if it includes a resource specification, but the failure is on RunInstances, not SSM. Option D is incorrect because DescribeInstances does not require a Resource specification in the policy; the policy syntax is valid.
Key principle: Count usable hosts — not total addresses — and remember that the network and broadcast addresses are not available to hosts in standard IPv4 subnets.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
The condition StringEquals on InstanceType is incorrectly formatted.
Why it's wrong here
The condition is syntactically correct.
✗
The pipeline does not have permission to call ssm:GetParameter because the resource is not specified.
Why it's wrong here
The action is allowed on all resources.
✓
The policy does not grant permissions on additional resources required for RunInstances, such as images and network interfaces.
Why this is correct
RunInstances requires permissions on resources like images, security groups, etc., which are not allowed.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
The policy must include a 'Resource' for the 'ec2:DescribeInstances' action to be valid.
Why it's wrong here
DescribeInstances can be allowed on all resources.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: usable hosts are not the same as total addresses
Subnetting questions often tempt you into counting all addresses. In normal IPv4 subnets, the network and broadcast addresses are not usable host addresses.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Subnetting questions test whether you can identify the network, broadcast address, usable range, mask and correct subnet. Slow down enough to calculate the block size correctly.
KKey Concepts to Remember
CIDR notation defines the prefix length.
Block size helps identify subnet boundaries.
Network and broadcast addresses are not usable hosts in normal IPv4 subnets.
The required host count determines the smallest suitable subnet.
TExam Day Tips
→Write the block size before choosing the subnet.
→Check whether the question asks for hosts, subnets or a specific address range.
→Do not confuse /24, /25, /26 and /27 host counts.
Key takeaway
Count usable hosts — not total addresses — and remember that the network and broadcast addresses are not available to hosts in standard IPv4 subnets.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
Visual reference
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Review block sizes, usable host formulas (2^n − 2), and how to find network and broadcast addresses for /24 through /30. Then practise related DOP-C02 subnetting questions on CIDR, address ranges, and subnet selection.
Configuration Management and IaC — This question tests Configuration Management and IaC — CIDR notation defines the prefix length..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The policy does not grant permissions on additional resources required for RunInstances, such as images and network interfaces. — The correct answer is C. The IAM policy likely only grants permissions on the 'ec2:RunInstances' action for the EC2 instance resource (arn:aws:ec2:region:account:instance/*), but creating an EC2 instance also requires permissions on other resources such as Amazon Machine Images (AMI), security groups, network interfaces, subnets, etc. Without explicit permissions on these additional resources, the RunInstances call fails with AccessDenied. Option A is incorrect because the condition syntax does not cause an AccessDenied; it would simply not match if poorly formatted. Option B is incorrect because the ssm:GetParameter action is allowed by the policy if it includes a resource specification, but the failure is on RunInstances, not SSM. Option D is incorrect because DescribeInstances does not require a Resource specification in the policy; the policy syntax is valid.
What should I do if I get this DOP-C02 question wrong?
Review block sizes, usable host formulas (2^n − 2), and how to find network and broadcast addresses for /24 through /30. Then practise related DOP-C02 subnetting questions on CIDR, address ranges, and subnet selection.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
What is the key concept behind this question?
CIDR notation defines the prefix length.
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Question Discussion
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