Question 1mediummultiple choice
Full question →mediummultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A SysOps administrator manages a CloudFormation stack that deploys a web application. The stack includes an Amazon EC2 instance and an Amazon RDS DB instance. The administrator needs to update the stack to change the EC2 instance type. The administrator wants to ensure that the update does not accidentally replace the RDS database. Which CloudFormation feature should the administrator use to protect the RDS resource from being replaced during the stack update?
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
Use a DeletionPolicy of Retain on the RDS resource.
A DeletionPolicy only controls what happens when a resource is deleted from the stack, not when it is replaced during an update. Replacement involves both creation and deletion, but this policy does not prevent the update.
B
Best answer
Use a stack policy that denies updates to the RDS resource.
A stack policy can explicitly deny update, replace, or delete actions on specific resources. By applying a policy that denies update to the RDS resource, the CloudFormation update will fail if it attempts to modify the RDS instance, thus protecting it from accidental replacement.
C
Distractor review
Use the Resource Signal and CreationPolicy attributes.
CreationPolicy and Resource Signal are used to wait for successful resource creation or configuration completion. They do not prevent resource replacement during an update.
D
Distractor review
Use a Change Set to review changes before executing.
A Change Set allows you to preview the changes that will be made, but it does not block the update execution. If the administrator executes the change set, the RDS resource could still be replaced.
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: Use a stack policy that denies updates to the RDS resource. — A stack policy is a JSON-based policy that defines which resources in a CloudFormation stack can be updated, deleted, or replaced. By applying a stack policy that denies updates to the RDS resource, the administrator can prevent accidental replacement during a stack update. Change Sets help review changes but do not block them. DeletionPolicy only affects deletion, not replacement. CreationPolicy and Resource Signal are for signaling creation completion.
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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