Question 1mediummultiple choice
Full question →mediummultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A company uses AWS CodePipeline to automate the deployment of a web application. The pipeline consists of a source stage (AWS CodeCommit) and a deploy stage (AWS CodeDeploy) that deploys to an Auto Scaling group. The SysOps administrator needs to add a stage to run automated unit tests before the deployment proceeds. The tests must be executed in an isolated environment, and if they fail, the pipeline must stop and notify the development team. Which action should the administrator take?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
A
Distractor review
Add a manual approval action between the source and deploy stages. The development team will manually run the tests on their local machines and then approve the pipeline to proceed.
This approach lacks automation and relies on manual intervention. It also does not run tests in an isolated environment; tests are run locally, which may not match the production environment. It does not guarantee that failed tests will automatically block the pipeline.
B
Distractor review
Insert a test stage after the source stage with an AWS CloudFormation action that deploys a test stack and runs tests using a custom resource Lambda function.
CloudFormation is not the appropriate service for running code tests. This would be overly complex and not optimized for automated testing. CodeBuild is the native service for build and test actions in CodePipeline.
C
Best answer
Add a stage between source and deploy that uses an AWS CodeBuild action to run unit tests defined in a buildspec file. The pipeline will automatically stop if the build action fails.
CodeBuild is the ideal service for running automated tests in a controlled environment. It integrates natively with CodePipeline: if the CodeBuild build fails, the pipeline transitions to a failed state, stopping further execution and optionally sending notifications via Amazon SNS.
D
Distractor review
Add a Lambda function as an action in the pipeline that runs the unit tests. The Lambda function writes the test results to an S3 bucket, and a subsequent approval action checks the results.
Using Lambda for running tests is not recommended because Lambda has execution time limits (15 minutes) and is not designed for complex build/test workflows. CodeBuild is purpose-built for this scenario and provides better isolation, logging, and integration.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
- Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
- Underline the problem statement mentally.
- 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.
Related practice questions
Related SOA-C02 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
A company uses Amazon CloudFront to deliver content to a global audience. The origin is an Application Load Balancer in us-east-1. The SysOps administrator wants to reduce costs by minimizing the number of requests that reach the origin server. Which action should the administrator take?
Question 2
A company runs a batch processing application on Amazon EC2 that runs for 2 hours every night. The workload can tolerate interruptions. Which EC2 purchasing option provides the lowest cost for this use case?
Question 3
A SysOps administrator needs to monitor the CPU utilization of an Amazon RDS DB instance and receive an alarm when CPU utilization exceeds 80% for 5 consecutive minutes. Which AWS service should be used to create this alarm?
Question 4
A company runs a critical web application on Amazon EC2 instances in an Auto Scaling group behind an Application Load Balancer (ALB). The application uses session stickiness (sticky sessions) to maintain user sessions. The SysOps administrator notices that when instances are replaced during a scale-in or failure event, users lose their session data. The administrator needs to preserve session data across instance failures without losing stickiness benefits. What should the administrator do?
Question 5
A company runs a production web application on a single Amazon EC2 instance. The application experiences a predictable and steady workload 24/7. The SysOps administrator wants to minimize compute costs for this instance while ensuring it remains available during the expected workload. Which EC2 purchasing option should the administrator use?
Question 6
A company has a VPC with public and private subnets. The private subnets host application servers that need to make outbound HTTPS connections to the internet. The SysOps administrator must implement a solution that provides outbound internet connectivity while preventing inbound connections from the internet. Additionally, the solution must allow the company to control which domains the application servers can access. Which solution should the administrator implement?
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SOA-C02 question test?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Add a stage between source and deploy that uses an AWS CodeBuild action to run unit tests defined in a buildspec file. The pipeline will automatically stop if the build action fails. — The correct approach is to add a stage between source and deploy with an action provider that can run tests, such as AWS CodeBuild. CodeBuild can be configured to execute unit tests from a buildspec file in the repository. It runs in an isolated build environment. If the tests fail, CodeBuild returns a failure status, which causes the pipeline to stop. Option A would not stop the pipeline because approval actions only pause, they don't fail. Option B is incorrect because CloudFormation is for infrastructure provisioning, not running code tests. Option D uses Lambda, which is not designed for long-running test processes and adds complexity.
What should I do if I get this SOA-C02 question wrong?
Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.
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