Quick Answer
The answer is Amazon CloudWatch. This is correct because Amazon RDS natively publishes database-level metrics to CloudWatch, including DatabaseConnections, ReplicaLag, and failover events, allowing you to correlate a spike in load with replication lag to pinpoint the root cause of a failover. On the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional DOP-C02 exam, this question tests your ability to distinguish between services that provide operational metrics versus audit or network logs—a common trap is choosing CloudTrail, which records API calls but not database performance data. Remember that CloudWatch is the single pane of glass for RDS metrics, while CloudTrail is for who-did-what and VPC Flow Logs is for network traffic. A useful memory tip: think of CloudWatch as the “watch” over your database’s health, not just its API history.
This DOP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of incident and event response. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 notices that an Amazon RDS for MySQL instance has failed over to a standby replica. The engineer needs to identify the root cause by examining metrics. Which AWS service should the engineer use to view the database load, replication lag, and failover events?
AWS CloudTrail
Why wrong: CloudTrail records API calls, not database metrics.
Amazon CloudWatch
CloudWatch monitors RDS metrics including load and replication lag.
VPC Flow Logs
Why wrong: Flow Logs capture network traffic, not database metrics.
AWS Trusted Advisor
Why wrong: Trusted Advisor provides optimization checks, not metrics.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Amazon CloudWatch
Option B is correct because Amazon RDS integrates with CloudWatch to monitor metrics like DatabaseConnections, ReplicaLag, and failover events. Option A is wrong because CloudTrail records API calls but not database-level metrics. Option C is wrong because VPC Flow Logs capture network traffic, not database metrics. Option D is wrong because Trusted Advisor provides best-practice checks, not real-time metrics.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
AWS CloudTrail
Why it's wrong here
CloudTrail records API calls, not database metrics.
Amazon CloudWatch
Why this is correct
CloudWatch monitors RDS metrics including load and replication lag.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
VPC Flow Logs
Why it's wrong here
Flow Logs capture network traffic, not database metrics.
AWS Trusted Advisor
Why it's wrong here
Trusted Advisor provides optimization checks, not metrics.
Common exam traps
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
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.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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
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.
Incident and Event Response — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Incident and Event Response — This question tests Incident and Event Response — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Amazon CloudWatch — Option B is correct because Amazon RDS integrates with CloudWatch to monitor metrics like DatabaseConnections, ReplicaLag, and failover events. Option A is wrong because CloudTrail records API calls but not database-level metrics. Option C is wrong because VPC Flow Logs capture network traffic, not database metrics. Option D is wrong because Trusted Advisor provides best-practice checks, not real-time metrics.
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.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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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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