- A
AWS Systems Manager
Systems Manager Run Command and Session Manager can target instances across accounts.
- B
AWS Config
Why wrong: Config is for resource inventory and compliance.
- C
Amazon ECS
Why wrong: ECS is for container orchestration.
- D
AWS OpsWorks
Why wrong: OpsWorks is for configuration management, not command execution across accounts.
Question 670 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. 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 wants to centralize management of Amazon EC2 instances across multiple AWS accounts. They need to be able to run commands on instances in any account from a central management account. Which service should be used?
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 Systems Manager
AWS Systems Manager (SSM) is the correct choice because it provides a unified interface to manage EC2 instances across multiple AWS accounts via the Systems Manager Agent (SSM Agent). With SSM, you can use Run Command, Session Manager, or State Manager to execute commands on instances in any account, as long as the instances are registered in AWS Systems Manager and the appropriate cross-account IAM roles and resource access manager (RAM) sharing are configured. This centralizes management without requiring SSH or bastion hosts.
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 Systems Manager
Why this is correct
Systems Manager Run Command and Session Manager can target instances across accounts.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
AWS Config
Why it's wrong here
Config is for resource inventory and compliance.
- ✗
Amazon ECS
Why it's wrong here
ECS is for container orchestration.
- ✗
AWS OpsWorks
Why it's wrong here
OpsWorks is for configuration management, not command execution across accounts.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may confuse AWS Config's compliance and auditing capabilities with Systems Manager's operational command execution, or mistakenly think OpsWorks (which also uses agents) is suitable for cross-account command execution, but OpsWorks lacks native cross-account centralized command features and is more focused on application lifecycle management.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
OpsWorks is for configuration management, not command execution across accounts.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, AWS Systems Manager uses the SSM Agent installed on EC2 instances to communicate with the Systems Manager service via HTTPS (port 443) and AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) roles. For cross-account management, you must share the Systems Manager automation documents or use AWS Resource Access Manager (RAM) to share managed instances, and configure IAM roles in the target accounts to allow the central management account to assume a role (e.g., via AWS Security Token Service) with permissions to invoke SSM APIs like SendCommand. A real-world scenario is a DevOps team using SSM Run Command to patch thousands of instances across production, staging, and development accounts from a single pane of glass.
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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
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 Systems Manager — AWS Systems Manager (SSM) is the correct choice because it provides a unified interface to manage EC2 instances across multiple AWS accounts via the Systems Manager Agent (SSM Agent). With SSM, you can use Run Command, Session Manager, or State Manager to execute commands on instances in any account, as long as the instances are registered in AWS Systems Manager and the appropriate cross-account IAM roles and resource access manager (RAM) sharing are configured. This centralizes management without requiring SSH or bastion hosts.
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: Jun 24, 2026
This SAP-C02 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 SAP-C02 exam.
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