Question 1easymultiple choice
Full question →easymultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A SysOps administrator manages an Application Load Balancer (ALB) that distributes traffic to an Auto Scaling group of EC2 instances. The administrator needs to receive a notification whenever the number of unhealthy targets in the ALB target group exceeds a threshold of 2 for at least 5 consecutive minutes. Which solution meets this requirement with the least operational overhead?
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
Best answer
Create a CloudWatch alarm on the 'UnHealthyHostCount' metric for the ALB target group, with a threshold of 2 and an evaluation period of 5 minutes. Configure the alarm to send an Amazon SNS notification.
CloudWatch automatically collects the 'UnHealthyHostCount' metric from the ALB. The alarm triggers when the metric exceeds the threshold, and SNS delivers notifications directly. This requires no custom code and is the simplest approach.
B
Distractor review
Enable AWS CloudTrail logging for the ALB and create a CloudWatch metric filter for 'UnHealthyHostCount' events. Then create an alarm on that metric to notify via SNS.
CloudTrail logs API calls to the ALB, not the health check metrics. 'UnHealthyHostCount' is a CloudWatch metric emitted by the ALB, not a CloudTrail event. This approach would not capture the desired data.
C
Distractor review
Use an AWS Config rule to evaluate the health of the ALB target group and trigger an SNS notification when non-compliant.
AWS Config is not designed for real-time health monitoring. It can evaluate resource configuration but not dynamic metrics like target health. The correct way to monitor metrics is via CloudWatch alarms.
D
Distractor review
Create an Amazon EventBridge rule that triggers every minute to call the AWS CLI command describe-target-health and send a notification via Lambda if unhealthy count exceeds 2.
This approach introduces unnecessary complexity with a custom Lambda function and scheduled events. CloudWatch alarms natively monitor the 'UnHealthyHostCount' metric and can directly notify via SNS, making this the least overhead solution.
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: Create a CloudWatch alarm on the 'UnHealthyHostCount' metric for the ALB target group, with a threshold of 2 and an evaluation period of 5 minutes. Configure the alarm to send an Amazon SNS notification. — The correct solution is to create an Amazon CloudWatch alarm on the 'UnHealthyHostCount' metric for the ALB target group. The alarm should be set to trigger when the metric exceeds the threshold for the specified evaluation period. The alarm action can send a notification to an Amazon SNS topic, which can then deliver an email or SMS to the administrator. Option B is incorrect because CloudTrail does not track target health. Option C is incorrect because AWS Config is for resource configuration, not health monitoring. Option D adds unnecessary complexity by using a Lambda function when a simple CloudWatch alarm with SNS action works.
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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