PAS-C01 Technology Practice Question
An organization uses AWS Systems Manager to run automation documents on their SAP EC2 instances. Recently, some automation runbooks have failed because the EC2 instances did not have the required SSM Agent version. The operations team wants to ensure all existing and future instances automatically have the latest SSM Agent. Which solution meets this requirement?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse Patch Manager's OS patching capabilities with SSM Agent updates, or assume a non-existent EC2 launch setting exists, leading them to choose options that sound plausible but are technically incorrect.
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 an AWS Systems Manager State Manager association that runs the AWS-UpdateSSMAgent document on the instances.
AWS Systems Manager State Manager can enforce a desired state configuration on EC2 instances. By creating an association that runs the `AWS-UpdateSSMAgent` document on a schedule, State Manager ensures that both existing and future instances (when configured with the appropriate instance profile and tags) automatically update to the latest SSM Agent version, regardless of the instance's lifecycle.
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 an automation document to update the SSM Agent and schedule it via a cron job on each instance.
Why it's wrong here
Manual scheduling on each instance is not scalable.
- ✗
Enable the 'Auto-update SSM Agent' option in the EC2 launch settings for all instances.
Why it's wrong here
This option is not available in launch settings; auto-update is a feature of the agent itself.
- ✗
Configure AWS Systems Manager Patch Manager to update the SSM Agent.
Why it's wrong here
Patch Manager updates OS patches, not the SSM Agent.
- ✓
Create an AWS Systems Manager State Manager association that runs the AWS-UpdateSSMAgent document on the instances.
Why this is correct
State Manager ensures compliance and automatic updates.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PAS-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 PAS-C01 exam.