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Monitoring, Logging, and Remediation →easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

SOA-C02 Monitoring, Logging, and Remediation Practice Question

This SOA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of monitoring, logging, and remediation. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 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?

Clue words in this question

Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.

Clue: "least"
Why it matters: You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.

Question 1easymultiple choice

Full question →

A
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
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.
Why wrong: 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
Use an AWS Config rule to evaluate the health of the ALB target group and trigger an SNS notification when non-compliant.
Why wrong: 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
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.
Why wrong: 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.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

Answer choices

Why each option matters

Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.

Correct answer & explanation

✓

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.

Option A is correct because CloudWatch natively publishes the 'UnHealthyHostCount' metric for ALB target groups, allowing a direct alarm with a threshold of 2 and an evaluation period of 5 minutes. This alarm can trigger an SNS notification with minimal configuration, requiring no custom scripts or additional services. The requirement for 'at least 5 consecutive minutes' is satisfied by setting the evaluation period to 5 minutes (or using 5 datapoints with a 1-minute period).

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.

✓
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.
Why this is correct
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.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "least" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
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.
Why it's wrong here
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.
✗
Use an AWS Config rule to evaluate the health of the ALB target group and trigger an SNS notification when non-compliant.
Why it's wrong here
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.
✗
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.
Why it's wrong here
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 traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates may overcomplicate the solution by choosing custom polling (Option D) or misapplying services like CloudTrail or Config, failing to recognize that CloudWatch metrics already provide the exact functionality needed with zero additional code.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

The 'UnHealthyHostCount' metric is emitted by the ALB every 60 seconds by default, and CloudWatch alarms evaluate based on the number of evaluation periods (e.g., 5 consecutive periods of 1 minute each) to detect sustained breaches. The alarm state transitions from OK to ALARM only when the threshold is exceeded for the specified number of consecutive datapoints, preventing false positives from transient spikes. In a real-world scenario, combining this alarm with an Auto Scaling lifecycle hook can automate instance replacement without manual intervention.

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.

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this SOA-C02 question test?

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: 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. — Option A is correct because CloudWatch natively publishes the 'UnHealthyHostCount' metric for ALB target groups, allowing a direct alarm with a threshold of 2 and an evaluation period of 5 minutes. This alarm can trigger an SNS notification with minimal configuration, requiring no custom scripts or additional services. The requirement for 'at least 5 consecutive minutes' is satisfied by setting the evaluation period to 5 minutes (or using 5 datapoints with a 1-minute period).

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.

Are there clue words in this question I should notice?

Yes — watch for: "least". You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

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