Quick Answer
The answer is the HTTPCode_Target_5XX_Count CloudWatch metric. This metric is correct because it specifically counts the number of HTTP response codes in the 5xx range returned directly by the target instances behind the ALB, such as 500 Internal Server Error or 503 Service Unavailable, which clearly indicates server-side failures on the EC2 instances themselves. On the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate SOA-C02 exam, this question tests your ability to distinguish between ALB-level metrics (like HTTPCode_ELB_5XX_Count, which tracks load balancer errors) and target-level metrics; a common trap is confusing the two, so remember that any metric with “Target” in the name reflects the backend server’s health. To monitor ALB target 5xx errors effectively, always look for the word “Target” in the metric name. A simple memory tip: “Target 5xx = server trouble, ELB 5xx = load balancer trouble.”
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 wants to monitor the health of its web application running on EC2 instances behind an Application Load Balancer (ALB). Which CloudWatch metric from the ALB can indicate that requests are failing due to server errors?
HTTPCode_Target_5XX_Count
This counts server-side errors from targets.
HTTPCode_Target_4XX_Count
Why wrong: This is for client errors, not server errors.
HTTPCode_Target_2XX_Count
Why wrong: This is for successful responses.
HTTPCode_Target_3XX_Count
Why wrong: This is for redirection responses.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
HTTPCode_Target_5XX_Count
The correct answer is A because the HTTPCode_Target_5XX_Count metric from the Application Load Balancer (ALB) specifically counts the number of HTTP response codes in the 5xx range returned by the target (EC2 instances). A 5xx status code indicates a server-side error, such as an internal server error (500), gateway timeout (504), or service unavailable (503), which directly reflects that requests are failing due to issues on the EC2 instances themselves.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
HTTPCode_Target_5XX_Count
Why this is correct
This counts server-side errors from targets.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
HTTPCode_Target_4XX_Count
Why it's wrong here
This is for client errors, not server errors.
HTTPCode_Target_2XX_Count
Why it's wrong here
This is for successful responses.
HTTPCode_Target_3XX_Count
Why it's wrong here
This is for redirection responses.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse HTTPCode_Target_5XX_Count with HTTPCode_ELB_5XX_Count, mistakenly thinking any 5xx error is from the target, when in fact the ELB can also generate 5xx errors (e.g., 502 from a malformed response) that are tracked separately.
Detailed technical explanation
Under the hood, the ALB publishes these metrics to CloudWatch every 60 seconds by default, and they are aggregated across all targets in the target group. A real-world scenario where this matters is when a web application experiences intermittent 503 errors due to a misconfigured health check or a target group that has reached its connection limit; monitoring HTTPCode_Target_5XX_Count can trigger an alarm to auto-scale or replace unhealthy instances. Note that the ALB also provides HTTPCode_ELB_5XX_Count for errors generated by the load balancer itself (e.g., 502 from a bad gateway), so it's important to distinguish between target and ELB errors.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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
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FAQ
Monitoring, Logging, and Remediation — This question tests Monitoring, Logging, and Remediation — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: HTTPCode_Target_5XX_Count — The correct answer is A because the HTTPCode_Target_5XX_Count metric from the Application Load Balancer (ALB) specifically counts the number of HTTP response codes in the 5xx range returned by the target (EC2 instances). A 5xx status code indicates a server-side error, such as an internal server error (500), gateway timeout (504), or service unavailable (503), which directly reflects that requests are failing due to issues on the EC2 instances themselves.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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.
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