The correct answer is to create a CloudWatch alarm on the ALB's TargetResponseTime metric and configure it to send a notification to an SNS topic with an email subscription. This works because CloudWatch alarms monitor a specified metric—in this case, the average latency of requests processed by the Application Load Balancer—and when the threshold of 2 seconds is breached, the alarm state changes to ALARM, triggering an action that publishes a message to the SNS topic. The SNS topic then delivers the email notification to all subscribed endpoints, providing the desired alert. On the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate SOA-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of integrating CloudWatch with SNS for operational notifications, a common pattern for monitoring application performance. A frequent trap is confusing the ALB's Latency metric (which measures request-to-response time) with TargetResponseTime (which measures time for the target to respond); the latter is correct for backend latency. Memory tip: think "TargetResponseTime triggers the target alarm" to distinguish it from the broader Latency metric.
SOA-C02 Monitoring, Logging, and Remediation Practice Question
This SOA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of monitoring, logging, and remediation. 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 has an application running on EC2 instances behind an Application Load Balancer. They want to receive an email notification when the average latency exceeds 2 seconds. Which combination of steps should the SysOps administrator take? (Select TWO.)
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Configure the alarm to send a notification to an Amazon SNS topic.
Option D is correct because Amazon CloudWatch alarms can be configured to send notifications to an Amazon SNS topic when a metric threshold is breached. By creating an SNS topic and subscribing an email endpoint to it, the SysOps administrator can receive email alerts when the alarm state changes, such as when the average latency exceeds 2 seconds.
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.
✗
Enable AWS CloudTrail to capture API calls and monitor latency.
Why it's wrong here
CloudTrail does not monitor performance metrics.
✗
Use CloudWatch Logs to stream logs to Amazon ES for latency analysis.
Why it's wrong here
This is an additional step, not the primary action.
✗
Create a CloudWatch alarm on the EC2 instance's CPUUtilization metric.
Why it's wrong here
CPU utilization does not measure latency.
✓
Configure the alarm to send a notification to an Amazon SNS topic.
Why this is correct
SNS can send email notifications.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Create a CloudWatch alarm on the ALB's TargetResponseTime metric.
Why this is correct
TargetResponseTime is the correct metric for ALB latency.
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 confuse CloudTrail (audit logging) with CloudWatch (monitoring and alarming), or mistakenly think CPUUtilization is a proxy for latency, when the correct approach is to use the ALB's TargetResponseTime metric with a CloudWatch alarm and SNS notification.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The TargetResponseTime metric on an Application Load Balancer measures the time elapsed after the request leaves the load balancer until a response is received from the target, including processing time at the target. CloudWatch alarms evaluate this metric over a specified period (e.g., 5 minutes) using a statistic like Average or p99, and when the threshold is breached, the alarm transitions to ALARM state and publishes to the configured SNS topic, which then delivers the email via the subscribed endpoint.
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 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. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. 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.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Monitoring, Logging, and Remediation — This question tests Monitoring, Logging, and Remediation — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Configure the alarm to send a notification to an Amazon SNS topic. — Option D is correct because Amazon CloudWatch alarms can be configured to send notifications to an Amazon SNS topic when a metric threshold is breached. By creating an SNS topic and subscribing an email endpoint to it, the SysOps administrator can receive email alerts when the alarm state changes, such as when the average latency exceeds 2 seconds.
What should I do if I get this SOA-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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Question Discussion
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