Question 1easymultiple choice
Full question →easymultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A team stores application logs in Amazon CloudWatch Logs. They enabled long retention and detailed dashboards, resulting in higher-than-expected monthly spend. Compliance requires retaining logs for 90 days, but operations only needs aggregated views. Which change most directly reduces CloudWatch Logs cost while meeting the requirement?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
A
Best answer
Set the CloudWatch Logs log group retention period to 90 days for the relevant log groups.
CloudWatch Logs storage charges are driven primarily by how much data you store and for how long. Reducing retention to the required 90 days decreases stored log volume over time.
B
Distractor review
Disable VPC flow logs so the applications stop producing logs automatically.
VPC flow logs are a different log source than application logs. Disabling them would not reduce retention/storage for the application log groups that are driving the cost.
C
Distractor review
Increase the logging level to DEBUG to reduce the number of log events by batching them.
Increasing verbosity to DEBUG typically increases the number of log events and volume, which generally increases CloudWatch Logs ingestion and storage costs rather than reducing them.
D
Distractor review
Turn off CloudWatch alarms so logs stop being ingested into CloudWatch Logs.
CloudWatch alarms control monitoring and notifications. They do not stop log ingestion into CloudWatch Logs, and they do not control retention duration.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
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.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
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.
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.
- Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
- Underline the problem statement mentally.
- 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.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SAA-C03 question test?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Set the CloudWatch Logs log group retention period to 90 days for the relevant log groups. — CloudWatch Logs cost is driven mainly by storage retention and the amount of log data stored. Since compliance requires 90 days and operations does not need longer history, the most direct cost reduction is to set each relevant log group’s retention period to 90 days. This causes older logs to expire automatically, reducing the total amount of stored log data each month. Other actions listed (alarms, dashboard detail, and changing verbosity) do not directly reduce the retention-based storage charges for the application log groups. Disabling VPC flow logs affects a different type of logging and does not address storage for application log groups. DEBUG logging increases log volume, which typically increases costs. Alarms do not stop ingestion or change retention, so they don’t reduce storage charges.
What should I do if I get this SAA-C03 question wrong?
Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.
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