Question 770 of 1,746
Design Solutions for Organizational ComplexitymediumMultiple SelectObjective-mapped

Centralize CloudTrail Logs from All Accounts Using Organization Trail

This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of design solutions for organizational complexity. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 is implementing a multi-account strategy using AWS Organizations. They want to centralize CloudTrail logs from all accounts into a single S3 bucket in the management account. Which TWO steps are required to achieve this? (Choose two.)

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

Create a CloudTrail trail in the management account with the 'Enable for all accounts in my organization' option.

Option D is correct because the 'Enable for all accounts in my organization' option in CloudTrail automatically creates a trail that applies to all accounts in the AWS Organization, delivering logs from every account to the specified S3 bucket in the management account without requiring per-account configuration. Option E is correct because the S3 bucket policy must explicitly grant the CloudTrail service principal (cloudtrail.amazonaws.com) permission to write objects from any AWS account in the organization, ensuring cross-account delivery succeeds.

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.

  • Use S3 replication to copy logs from member account buckets to the central bucket.

    Why it's wrong here

    Replication adds complexity and is not the recommended method.

  • Create an IAM role in each member account that allows CloudTrail to write to the central bucket.

    Why it's wrong here

    CloudTrail uses the bucket policy, not an IAM role, for cross-account delivery.

  • Enable AWS Config in each member account to forward logs to the central bucket.

    Why it's wrong here

    AWS Config does not forward CloudTrail logs.

  • Create a CloudTrail trail in the management account with the 'Enable for all accounts in my organization' option.

    Why this is correct

    This allows CloudTrail to deliver logs from all accounts to the management account's bucket.

    Related concept

    Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

  • Configure the S3 bucket policy to grant the CloudTrail service principal write access from all accounts.

    Why this is correct

    The bucket policy must allow 'cloudtrail.amazonaws.com' to write objects from any account in the organization.

    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 cross-account access requires IAM roles (Option B) or replication (Option A), but CloudTrail's organization trail uses S3 bucket policies with the CloudTrail service principal, not IAM roles, to enable direct log delivery from all member accounts.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

When you create an organization trail in the management account, CloudTrail automatically creates a service-linked role (AWSServiceRoleForCloudTrail) in each member account to enable log delivery. The S3 bucket policy must include a condition like 'aws:SourceOrgID' or 'aws:SourceAccount' to restrict access to accounts within the organization, preventing unauthorized accounts from writing logs. This setup ensures logs are delivered directly from each account's CloudTrail service to the central bucket without intermediate storage or replication.

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 ClassMin DurationRetrievalUse Case
S3 StandardNoneImmediateFrequently accessed data
S3 Standard-IA30 daysImmediateInfrequent access, rapid retrieval
S3 One Zone-IA30 daysImmediateNon-critical infrequent data
S3 Intelligent-TieringNoneImmediate–hoursUnknown or changing access patterns
S3 Glacier Instant90 daysMillisecondsArchive with instant retrieval
S3 Glacier Flexible90 daysMinutes–hoursArchive, flexible retrieval
S3 Glacier Deep Archive180 daysHoursLong-term compliance archive

What to study next

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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: Create a CloudTrail trail in the management account with the 'Enable for all accounts in my organization' option. — Option D is correct because the 'Enable for all accounts in my organization' option in CloudTrail automatically creates a trail that applies to all accounts in the AWS Organization, delivering logs from every account to the specified S3 bucket in the management account without requiring per-account configuration. Option E is correct because the S3 bucket policy must explicitly grant the CloudTrail service principal (cloudtrail.amazonaws.com) permission to write objects from any AWS account in the organization, ensuring cross-account delivery succeeds.

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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Same concept, more angles

3 more ways this is tested on SAP-C02

These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.

Variation 1. A global company is using a multi-account AWS Organizations setup with a centralized logging account. They want to aggregate CloudTrail logs from all accounts into a single S3 bucket in the logging account. Which combination of steps will meet this requirement?

medium
  • A.Create an IAM role in each account that allows the logging account to assume and copy logs. Schedule a Lambda function to copy logs hourly.
  • B.Create an S3 bucket in the logging account with a bucket policy that grants read/write access to all accounts. Configure each account's CloudTrail to deliver to that bucket.
  • C.Create a CloudTrail trail in the management account that applies to all accounts in the organization, and specify the S3 bucket in the logging account as the destination.
  • D.Enable AWS Config in each account and stream configuration history to a centralized S3 bucket.

Why C: Option C is correct because AWS Organizations allows you to create a single CloudTrail trail in the management account that automatically applies to all member accounts. By specifying the S3 bucket in the centralized logging account as the destination, CloudTrail delivers logs from every account directly to that bucket without needing cross-account IAM roles or manual copying. This leverages the organization trail feature, which simplifies log aggregation and ensures consistent logging across the entire organization.

Variation 2. A company is implementing a multi-account strategy using AWS Organizations. They need to centralize logging of all API calls across accounts. Which solution meets this requirement with the least operational overhead?

medium
  • A.Enable CloudWatch Logs in each account and stream to a central log group.
  • B.Create a CloudTrail trail in each account and aggregate logs to a central S3 bucket.
  • C.Create an organization trail in the management account with CloudTrail.
  • D.Enable S3 server access logs on all accounts and send to a central bucket.

Why C: Option C is correct because AWS Organizations supports creating an organization trail in the management account that automatically logs API calls for all member accounts without requiring per-account configuration. This centralizes logging with minimal operational overhead, as CloudTrail handles the aggregation across the organization.

Variation 3. A company uses AWS Organizations with a management account and several member accounts. The security team wants to ensure that all member accounts have AWS CloudTrail enabled and that logs are delivered to a centralized S3 bucket in the management account. What should they do?

easy
  • A.Create a CloudTrail trail in the management account that applies to all accounts in the organization.
  • B.Use AWS CloudFormation StackSets to deploy a CloudTrail configuration to all accounts.
  • C.Enable CloudTrail in each member account and configure it to deliver logs to the management account's S3 bucket.
  • D.Apply an SCP to require CloudTrail to be enabled in all accounts.

Why A: Option A is correct because AWS CloudTrail supports organization trails, which can be created in the management account and automatically apply to all member accounts within the AWS Organization. This ensures that all accounts have CloudTrail enabled and logs are delivered to a centralized S3 bucket in the management account without requiring per-account configuration.

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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026

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