- A
VPC Flow Logs
Why wrong: Flow logs capture network traffic, not API calls.
- B
AWS CloudTrail
CloudTrail records API calls.
- C
AWS Config
Why wrong: Config records configuration changes, not API calls.
- D
Amazon CloudWatch Logs
CloudWatch Logs can centralize logs via cross-account subscription.
- E
Amazon S3
Why wrong: S3 stores logs but does not aggregate.
Question 1,711 of 1,746
SAP-C02 Practice Question: Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of design solutions for organizational complexity. 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 company has multiple AWS accounts and wants to centralize logging of all API calls. Which TWO services should be used together to achieve this?
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
✓
AWS CloudTrail
AWS CloudTrail is the correct service because it records all API calls made within an AWS account, including the identity, source IP, and timestamp. Centralizing logging across multiple accounts requires sending these CloudTrail logs to a central Amazon S3 bucket (often with cross-account permissions) and then using Amazon CloudWatch Logs to monitor, alert, or analyze the logs in real time. Together, CloudTrail captures the API activity, and CloudWatch Logs provides a unified log management and monitoring layer.
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.
- ✗
VPC Flow Logs
Why it's wrong here
Flow logs capture network traffic, not API calls.
- ✓
AWS CloudTrail
Why this is correct
CloudTrail records API calls.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
AWS Config
Why it's wrong here
Config records configuration changes, not API calls.
- ✓
Amazon CloudWatch Logs
Why this is correct
CloudWatch Logs can centralize logs via cross-account subscription.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Amazon S3
Why it's wrong here
S3 stores logs but does not aggregate.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often pick VPC Flow Logs (Option A) thinking it captures all API traffic, but it only captures network-level flows, not the application-layer API calls that CloudTrail records.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
CloudTrail delivers logs to an S3 bucket every 5 minutes by default, but for real-time centralization, you can configure CloudTrail to send logs to CloudWatch Logs via a log group, enabling metric filters and alarms. Under the hood, CloudTrail uses a delivery channel to write JSON-encoded event records, and CloudWatch Logs uses a subscription filter to stream these events to other destinations like Lambda or Kinesis for cross-account aggregation. A common real-world scenario is a multi-account organization using AWS Organizations to enable CloudTrail in all accounts and then streaming all logs to a single CloudWatch Logs log group in a central audit account.
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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
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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Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SAP-C02 question test?
Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity — This question tests Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: AWS CloudTrail — AWS CloudTrail is the correct service because it records all API calls made within an AWS account, including the identity, source IP, and timestamp. Centralizing logging across multiple accounts requires sending these CloudTrail logs to a central Amazon S3 bucket (often with cross-account permissions) and then using Amazon CloudWatch Logs to monitor, alert, or analyze the logs in real time. Together, CloudTrail captures the API activity, and CloudWatch Logs provides a unified log management and monitoring layer.
What should I do if I get this SAP-C02 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.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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