← SOA-C02·Amazon Web Services

Question 570 of 1,546

Monitoring, Logging, and Remediation →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

Quick Answer

The answer is to use a CloudWatch Logs subscription filter to invoke a Lambda function that publishes to an SNS topic. This solution has the least operational overhead because it eliminates the need to create and manage metric filters and CloudWatch alarms, instead enabling real-time, event-driven processing directly from the log stream. When the CloudWatch agent streams logs to CloudWatch Logs, the subscription filter evaluates each log event against the specified error pattern and triggers the Lambda function instantly upon a match, which then sends the notification via SNS. On the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate SOA-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of event-driven log monitoring versus polling-based approaches; a common trap is choosing metric filters with alarms, which add latency and require threshold management. For a memory tip, remember “Filter → Function → Fan-out” — the subscription filter triggers the Lambda, which fans out the alert through SNS, keeping the pipeline lean and real-time.

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 is using Amazon CloudWatch Logs to monitor application logs from EC2 instances. The operations team wants to receive a notification when a specific error pattern appears in the logs. Which solution requires the least operational overhead?

Clue words in this question

Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.

Clue: "least"
Why it matters: You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.

Question 1mediummultiple choice

Read the full NAT/PAT explanation →

A
Install the CloudWatch agent on EC2 instances and configure it to stream logs to CloudWatch Logs. Create a metric filter for the error pattern and set a CloudWatch alarm that sends an SNS notification.
Why wrong: This approach works but requires manual installation of the CloudWatch agent on each instance, increasing overhead.
B
Use Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose to stream all logs to Amazon S3, then run an AWS Glue job to search for the error pattern and trigger an SNS notification.
Why wrong: This adds cost and latency by processing all logs in batch, and requires managing Glue jobs.
C
Install the CloudWatch agent on EC2 instances, stream logs to CloudWatch Logs, and use a subscription filter to invoke an AWS Lambda function that publishes a message to an SNS topic.
Subscription filters provide serverless, real-time processing without managing additional resources.
D
Configure the application to write logs to a file, use the CloudWatch agent to send logs to CloudWatch Logs, set a metric filter, and use the filter to send data to Amazon EventBridge, which then triggers a Lambda function to send an SNS notification.
Why wrong: This is overly complex; EventBridge is not needed when CloudWatch Logs can directly invoke Lambda.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

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

✓

Install the CloudWatch agent on EC2 instances, stream logs to CloudWatch Logs, and use a subscription filter to invoke an AWS Lambda function that publishes a message to an SNS topic.

Option C is correct because it uses a CloudWatch Logs subscription filter to directly invoke a Lambda function when a log event matches the error pattern, which then publishes an SNS notification. This approach avoids the overhead of creating and managing metric filters and alarms, and it provides real-time, event-driven processing with minimal configuration.

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.

✗
Install the CloudWatch agent on EC2 instances and configure it to stream logs to CloudWatch Logs. Create a metric filter for the error pattern and set a CloudWatch alarm that sends an SNS notification.
Why it's wrong here
This approach works but requires manual installation of the CloudWatch agent on each instance, increasing overhead.
✗
Use Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose to stream all logs to Amazon S3, then run an AWS Glue job to search for the error pattern and trigger an SNS notification.
Why it's wrong here
This adds cost and latency by processing all logs in batch, and requires managing Glue jobs.
✓
Install the CloudWatch agent on EC2 instances, stream logs to CloudWatch Logs, and use a subscription filter to invoke an AWS Lambda function that publishes a message to an SNS topic.
Why this is correct
Subscription filters provide serverless, real-time processing without managing additional resources.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "least" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Configure the application to write logs to a file, use the CloudWatch agent to send logs to CloudWatch Logs, set a metric filter, and use the filter to send data to Amazon EventBridge, which then triggers a Lambda function to send an SNS notification.
Why it's wrong here
This is overly complex; EventBridge is not needed when CloudWatch Logs can directly invoke Lambda.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates often assume metric filters and alarms are the simplest solution, but they overlook the real-time, event-driven nature of subscription filters, which actually require less overhead for immediate notification.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

CloudWatch Logs subscription filters use a real-time, push-based mechanism: when a log event matches the filter pattern, CloudWatch Logs immediately streams the event to the configured destination (e.g., Lambda, Kinesis, or Firehose). This is more efficient than metric filters, which aggregate data over a period (default 1 minute) and require an alarm to evaluate the metric. In high-volume logging scenarios, subscription filters reduce latency from minutes to seconds, which is critical for operational alerts.

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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.

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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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this SOA-C02 question test?

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: Install the CloudWatch agent on EC2 instances, stream logs to CloudWatch Logs, and use a subscription filter to invoke an AWS Lambda function that publishes a message to an SNS topic. — Option C is correct because it uses a CloudWatch Logs subscription filter to directly invoke a Lambda function when a log event matches the error pattern, which then publishes an SNS notification. This approach avoids the overhead of creating and managing metric filters and alarms, and it provides real-time, event-driven processing with minimal configuration.

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.

Are there clue words in this question I should notice?

Yes — watch for: "least". You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

About these practice questions

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Same concept, more angles

1 more ways this is tested on SOA-C02

These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.

Variation 1. A company uses Amazon CloudWatch Logs to store application logs. The security team needs to be alerted when any log group contains a specific error pattern. The solution must minimize latency and operational overhead. What should a SysOps administrator do?

medium

A.Stream the logs to Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose, which then triggers a Lambda function to check for errors.
B.Create a CloudWatch metric filter on the log group and set an alarm that triggers an SNS notification.
✓ C.Create a Lambda function subscribed to the CloudWatch Logs log group, which checks for the error pattern and publishes to an SNS topic.
D.Use CloudWatch Logs Insights to run a query every minute and send results via SNS.

Why C: Option C is correct because subscribing a Lambda function directly to a CloudWatch Logs log group allows real-time, low-latency processing of log events as they arrive. The Lambda function can parse each log event for the specific error pattern and publish to an SNS topic to alert the security team, minimizing operational overhead by avoiding additional streaming or polling services.

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Question Discussion

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This SOA-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 SOA-C02 exam.