MLA-C01 Practice Question: ML Solution Monitoring, Maintenance, and Security
A company has a SageMaker real-time endpoint that serves predictions. They want to set up automated monitoring and remediation for when the number of 5XX errors exceeds a threshold. Which TWO steps should they take? (Choose TWO.)
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse SageMaker Model Monitor (for data quality) with CloudWatch metrics (for operational health), leading them to select option A instead of recognizing that 5XX errors are operational metrics monitored via CloudWatch Alarms.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Configure the CloudWatch Alarm to publish to an SNS topic
A CloudWatch Alarm on the 5XXError metric can be configured to publish to an SNS topic, enabling automated notifications or remediation actions (e.g., via Lambda) when the alarm state is triggered. This is the standard AWS approach for alerting on endpoint errors without custom polling.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Use SageMaker Model Monitor to detect 5XX errors
Why it's wrong here
Model Monitor tracks data and model quality drift, bias and feature attribution; it does not capture endpoint invocation 5XX errors. It is tempting because it is the native SageMaker monitoring service, and it would be correct when the requirement is detecting data drift rather than infrastructure error rates.
- ✓
Configure the CloudWatch Alarm to publish to an SNS topic
Why this is correct
Remediation requires an action trigger, not just detection. Publishing the CloudWatch Alarm to an SNS topic satisfies the stem's automated remediation requirement by fanning out to subscribers such as Lambda or email, enabling an automated response once the 5XX threshold is breached.
- ✗
Set up a scheduled EventBridge rule to check 5XXError every minute
Why it's wrong here
EventBridge can schedule rule invocations, but CloudWatch alarms already evaluate the 5XXError metric continuously and trigger remediation; a one-minute poll adds delay and misses the alarm action. It is tempting because EventBridge schedules automation, and it would be correct for time-based tasks such as periodic batch jobs.
- ✗
Write a custom script on EC2 to poll the endpoint and check for errors
Why it's wrong here
Polling from EC2 adds custom code, latency and operational overhead, and cannot trigger native remediation. It is tempting because custom scripts offer flexibility, and this would be the correct choice when no managed monitoring service exists for the metric being tracked.
- ✓
Create a CloudWatch Alarm on the 5XXError metric
Why this is correct
Detection begins with a CloudWatch Alarm watching the endpoint's 5XXError metric. This satisfies the stem's threshold condition by entering ALARM state when errors exceed the configured value, providing the event that downstream SNS-based remediation acts upon.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This MLA-C01 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 MLA-C01 exam.