PAS-C01 CloudWatch Custom Metrics Practice Question
An SAP HANA database on EC2 is experiencing high swap usage. The system administrator suspects that the memory configuration is insufficient. Which CloudWatch metric should be monitored to confirm this?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap is assuming SwapUsage is a standard EC2 metric. In reality, both SwapUsage and MemoryUtilization require the CloudWatch agent.
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
✓
SwapUsage
High swap usage indicates memory pressure, and SwapUsage is a custom metric that can be monitored via the CloudWatch agent. It is not a default EC2 metric. Option A (NetworkOut) measures network traffic, not memory. Option B (DiskWriteOps) measures disk I/O, not memory. Option D (MemoryUtilization) is also a custom metric that measures memory usage, but swap usage directly indicates insufficient memory.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
NetworkOut
Why it's wrong here
NetworkOut measures network traffic, not memory or swap usage. It is a standard EC2 metric but irrelevant for memory configuration.
- ✗
DiskWriteOps
Why it's wrong here
DiskWriteOps measures disk write operations. While swap activity involves disk, it is not a direct metric for confirming high swap usage.
- ✓
SwapUsage
Why this is correct
SwapUsage is a custom metric reported by the CloudWatch agent. Monitoring this metric directly confirms high swap usage, indicating insufficient memory.
- ✗
MemoryUtilization
Why it's wrong here
MemoryUtilization is a custom metric that measures RAM usage. While it can indicate memory pressure, swap usage is the more direct indicator of insufficient memory.
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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.