MLA-C01 Practice Question: ML Solution Monitoring, Maintenance, and Security
A machine learning team uses SageMaker Pipelines and wants to automatically retrain a model when data drift is detected. They have set up Model Monitor to publish drift violations to CloudWatch. Which approach provides a COMPLETE serverless retraining pipeline triggered by drift detection?
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 a CloudWatch Alarm on drift metric → SNS topic → Lambda function that starts the SageMaker Pipeline execution
The recommended pattern: CloudWatch Alarm triggers on drift metric → SNS message → Lambda function (receives SNS) → starts SageMaker Pipeline execution. EventBridge could also trigger on SNS events, but Lambda is simplest. EventBridge can schedule retraining but does not directly react to specific drift alarms. Step Functions would add unnecessary complexity.
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 directly invoke a SageMaker Pipeline when drift is detected
Why it's wrong here
Model Monitor cannot directly invoke pipelines; it only publishes metrics and violations to CloudWatch.
- ✗
Use EventBridge to schedule retraining daily regardless of drift
Why it's wrong here
Scheduled retraining does not react to drift events; it runs on a fixed schedule.
- ✓
Configure a CloudWatch Alarm on drift metric → SNS topic → Lambda function that starts the SageMaker Pipeline execution
Why this is correct
This chain fully automates retraining on drift detection without manual intervention.
- ✗
Create an EventBridge rule that triggers on Model Monitor drift events to start the pipeline
Why it's wrong here
Model Monitor does not emit custom events to EventBridge; it uses CloudWatch metrics/alarms.
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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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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