The correct answer is to create a CloudWatch alarm on the 'DatabaseConnections' metric and configure it to send a notification to an Amazon SNS topic. This works because 'DatabaseConnections' is a standard RDS CloudWatch metric that tracks the current number of active connections to your MySQL instance; setting a threshold of 100 means the alarm triggers when connections exceed that count, and SNS handles the notification delivery via email, SMS, or HTTP. On the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate SOA-C02 exam, this tests your ability to pair the right metric with an action—a common trap is confusing 'DatabaseConnections' with 'ConnectionAttempts' or forgetting to attach an SNS topic for alerts. Remember the memory tip: "Connections over 100? Alarm and SNS, you’re not helpless."
SOA-C02 Monitoring, Logging, and Remediation Practice Question
This SOA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of monitoring, logging, and remediation. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 SysOps administrator is setting up monitoring for an RDS MySQL database. The administrator needs to be notified when the database connection count exceeds 100. Which steps should be taken to achieve this? (Choose 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 CloudWatch alarm to send a notification to an SNS topic.
Option A is correct because Amazon CloudWatch alarms can send notifications to an Amazon SNS topic when the alarm state changes. This allows the SysOps administrator to receive alerts (e.g., via email, SMS, or HTTP) when the database connection count exceeds the threshold. Option B is correct because the 'DatabaseConnections' metric is a standard CloudWatch metric for RDS MySQL that tracks the number of current connections to the database instance. Creating an alarm on this metric with a threshold of 100 will trigger when the connection count exceeds that value.
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.
✓
Configure the CloudWatch alarm to send a notification to an SNS topic.
Why this is correct
SNS can send email or SMS.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Create a CloudWatch alarm on the 'DatabaseConnections' metric.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Enable Enhanced Monitoring for RDS.
Why it's wrong here
Enhanced Monitoring provides OS metrics, not connection count.
✗
Enable CloudTrail to log RDS API calls.
Why it's wrong here
CloudTrail does not monitor database connections.
✗
Create an Amazon EventBridge rule that triggers on RDS events.
Why it's wrong here
EventBridge does not monitor CloudWatch metrics directly.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Enhanced Monitoring (which provides OS-level metrics) with CloudWatch metrics (which provide database-level metrics like connection counts), leading them to incorrectly select Enhanced Monitoring as a solution for connection-based alarms.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The 'DatabaseConnections' metric in CloudWatch is published by the RDS service every minute and represents the number of client connections to the database instance. Under the hood, this metric is derived from the MySQL 'Threads_connected' status variable. A common real-world scenario is setting up a CloudWatch alarm with an SNS topic to trigger an auto-scaling action or notify an administrator when connections spike due to a sudden traffic surge, preventing database overload.
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 CloudWatch alarm to send a notification to an SNS topic. — Option A is correct because Amazon CloudWatch alarms can send notifications to an Amazon SNS topic when the alarm state changes. This allows the SysOps administrator to receive alerts (e.g., via email, SMS, or HTTP) when the database connection count exceeds the threshold. Option B is correct because the 'DatabaseConnections' metric is a standard CloudWatch metric for RDS MySQL that tracks the number of current connections to the database instance. Creating an alarm on this metric with a threshold of 100 will trigger when the connection count exceeds that value.
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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