The correct approach is to create a CloudWatch alarm on the StatusCheckFailed metric with a threshold of greater than 0, and configure that alarm to send a notification to an Amazon SNS topic. This works because the StatusCheckFailed metric aggregates both system and instance status checks into a single value of 0 or 1, so any failure pushes the metric above zero, triggering the alarm state change. On the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate SOA-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how CloudWatch metrics map to EC2 health monitoring and how SNS integrates as an action target. A common trap is confusing the separate StatusCheckFailed_Instance and StatusCheckFailed_System metrics, but the combined StatusCheckFailed metric catches both failures in one alarm. Remember the memory tip: "One metric to rule them all" — use StatusCheckFailed with threshold > 0 to notify on any EC2 status check failure.
SOA-C02 Monitoring, Logging, and Remediation Practice Question
This SOA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of monitoring, logging, and remediation. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 uses Amazon CloudWatch to monitor its AWS infrastructure. The operations team wants to receive notifications when any EC2 instance's status check fails. Which TWO steps should be taken to achieve this?
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 B is correct because Amazon CloudWatch alarms can be configured to send notifications to an Amazon SNS topic when the alarm state changes. This allows the operations team to receive immediate notifications (e.g., via email, SMS, or HTTP) when an EC2 instance's status check fails. Option E is also correct because the StatusCheckFailed metric (or StatusCheckFailed_Instance) directly reflects the result of the EC2 status check; setting an alarm with a threshold of greater than 0 triggers when any status check fails.
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.
✗
Create a CloudWatch alarm on the CPUUtilization metric with a threshold of 90%.
Why it's wrong here
CPU utilization does not indicate instance health.
✓
Configure the alarm to send a notification to an Amazon SNS topic.
Why this is correct
SNS delivers notifications via email, SMS, etc.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Enable AWS CloudTrail to capture instance state changes.
Why it's wrong here
CloudTrail logs API calls, not status check results.
✗
Install the CloudWatch agent on the instance and publish custom memory metrics.
Why it's wrong here
Memory metrics are not status checks.
✓
Create a CloudWatch alarm on the StatusCheckFailed (or StatusCheckFailed_Instance) metric with a threshold of greater than 0.
Why this is correct
This metric directly reflects instance status check failures.
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 may confuse CloudWatch metrics like CPUUtilization or custom metrics with the built-in StatusCheckFailed metric, or think that CloudTrail can be used for real-time monitoring and alerting, when in fact it is designed for auditing API activity, not for instance health checks.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
EC2 status checks are performed automatically every minute by the EC2 system; the StatusCheckFailed metric aggregates both system status checks (loss of network connectivity, power loss) and instance status checks (corrupted file system, incorrect networking). CloudWatch alarms on this metric can be set to evaluate over a period (e.g., 1 minute) to avoid transient failures, and the alarm can trigger an SNS topic that delivers notifications via multiple protocols (email, SMS, Lambda, etc.).
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 B is correct because Amazon CloudWatch alarms can be configured to send notifications to an Amazon SNS topic when the alarm state changes. This allows the operations team to receive immediate notifications (e.g., via email, SMS, or HTTP) when an EC2 instance's status check fails. Option E is also correct because the StatusCheckFailed metric (or StatusCheckFailed_Instance) directly reflects the result of the EC2 status check; setting an alarm with a threshold of greater than 0 triggers when any status check fails.
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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