The correct combination is Amazon CloudWatch with a CloudWatch Alarm and Amazon SNS. This works because CloudWatch continuously monitors the RDS CPU Utilization metric for your Multi-AZ Oracle instance, and when the alarm threshold of 80% is breached for a consecutive 5-minute period, it triggers an SNS topic to send a notification directly to the database administrator. On the AWS Certified SAP on AWS Specialty PAS-C01 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of native AWS monitoring for SAP workloads, specifically that CloudWatch metric alarms are the standard mechanism for real-time performance thresholds, while services like Inspector or Trusted Advisor serve entirely different purposes. A common trap is confusing EventBridge with CloudWatch alarms—remember that EventBridge reacts to events or scheduled patterns, not to sustained metric breaches. Memory tip: think "CloudWatch Alarm + SNS = the notification chain for any metric-based alert in SAP on AWS."
PAS-C01 Technology Practice Question
This PAS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of technology. 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.
An SAP workload on AWS uses a Multi-AZ RDS for Oracle instance for its database. The application team reports that a recent batch job caused a spike in database connections and CPU utilization, leading to performance degradation. The database administrator wants to be notified when CPU utilization exceeds 80% for 5 minutes. Which combination of AWS services should be used to set up this monitoring and notification?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Amazon CloudWatch with an Amazon CloudWatch Alarm and Amazon SNS
Option B is correct: CloudWatch can monitor RDS CPU utilization, and with a metric alarm, it can trigger an SNS notification. Option A is incorrect because Inspector is for security assessments. Option C is incorrect because Trusted Advisor is for best practices, not real-time metrics. Option D is incorrect because EventBridge would require custom events.
Key principle: NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Amazon EventBridge with AWS Lambda
Why it's wrong here
D is wrong: EventBridge is for scheduling/events, not direct metric monitoring.
✗
AWS Trusted Advisor with Amazon Simple Email Service (SES)
Why it's wrong here
C is wrong: Trusted Advisor does not monitor real-time CPU.
✓
Amazon CloudWatch with an Amazon CloudWatch Alarm and Amazon SNS
Why this is correct
B is correct: CloudWatch monitors metrics and alarms can trigger SNS notifications.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
✗
Amazon Inspector with Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS)
Why it's wrong here
A is wrong: Inspector is for security assessments, not CPU monitoring.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
→Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
→Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
→Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
Key takeaway
NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related PAS-C01 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Technology — This question tests Technology — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Amazon CloudWatch with an Amazon CloudWatch Alarm and Amazon SNS — Option B is correct: CloudWatch can monitor RDS CPU utilization, and with a metric alarm, it can trigger an SNS notification. Option A is incorrect because Inspector is for security assessments. Option C is incorrect because Trusted Advisor is for best practices, not real-time metrics. Option D is incorrect because EventBridge would require custom events.
What should I do if I get this PAS-C01 question wrong?
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related PAS-C01 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
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Question Discussion
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