- A
AWS Step Functions directly from CloudWatch Alarm
Why wrong: CloudWatch Alarms cannot directly invoke Step Functions; they go to SNS, Auto Scaling, or EC2 actions.
- B
SageMaker Processing job scheduled via EventBridge
Why wrong: While EventBridge can schedule jobs, it does not directly respond to a CloudWatch Alarm; you'd need a Lambda to read the alarm state.
- C
Amazon SQS queue polling by a custom application
Why wrong: SQS is not directly triggered by CloudWatch Alarms; it's more complex and less common for simple alarm responses.
- D
Amazon SNS topic triggering an AWS Lambda function
This pattern is typical: CloudWatch Alarm -> SNS -> Lambda -> start retraining pipeline.
Question 283 of 1,000
MLA-C01 Practice Question: ML Solution Monitoring, Maintenance, and Security
This MLA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of ml solution monitoring, maintenance, and security. 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 team wants to automatically retrain a model whenever data drift is detected on their SageMaker endpoint. Which AWS service should they use to invoke a retraining pipeline in response to a CloudWatch Alarm?
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
✓
Amazon SNS topic triggering an AWS Lambda function
Option D is correct because Amazon SNS can directly subscribe to a CloudWatch Alarm and, upon alarm state change, publish a message to an SNS topic. That topic can then trigger an AWS Lambda function, which invokes the retraining pipeline (e.g., SageMaker Processing or training job). This creates a fully managed, serverless event-driven workflow without needing custom polling or additional orchestration services.
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.
- ✗
AWS Step Functions directly from CloudWatch Alarm
Why it's wrong here
CloudWatch Alarms cannot directly invoke Step Functions; they go to SNS, Auto Scaling, or EC2 actions.
- ✗
SageMaker Processing job scheduled via EventBridge
Why it's wrong here
While EventBridge can schedule jobs, it does not directly respond to a CloudWatch Alarm; you'd need a Lambda to read the alarm state.
- ✗
Amazon SQS queue polling by a custom application
Why it's wrong here
SQS is not directly triggered by CloudWatch Alarms; it's more complex and less common for simple alarm responses.
- ✓
Amazon SNS topic triggering an AWS Lambda function
Why this is correct
This pattern is typical: CloudWatch Alarm -> SNS -> Lambda -> start retraining pipeline.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume CloudWatch Alarms can directly invoke Step Functions or Lambda without an intermediary like SNS, but CloudWatch Alarms only support SNS, SQS, and Auto Scaling actions as direct targets.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, CloudWatch Alarms use a state machine that transitions between OK, ALARM, and INSUFFICIENT_DATA. When the alarm enters ALARM state, it publishes to the configured SNS topic. The Lambda function subscribed to that topic receives the event payload containing alarm details (e.g., metric name, threshold breached). This pattern is idempotent and can be combined with SageMaker Model Registry to trigger retraining only when drift exceeds a configurable threshold, avoiding unnecessary compute costs.
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.
TExam Day Tips
- 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.
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 |
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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ML Solution Monitoring, Maintenance, and Security — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this MLA-C01 question test?
ML Solution Monitoring, Maintenance, and Security — This question tests ML Solution Monitoring, Maintenance, and Security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Amazon SNS topic triggering an AWS Lambda function — Option D is correct because Amazon SNS can directly subscribe to a CloudWatch Alarm and, upon alarm state change, publish a message to an SNS topic. That topic can then trigger an AWS Lambda function, which invokes the retraining pipeline (e.g., SageMaker Processing or training job). This creates a fully managed, serverless event-driven workflow without needing custom polling or additional orchestration services.
What should I do if I get this MLA-C01 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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.
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