SOA-C02 Monitoring, Logging, and Remediation Practice Question
A SysOps administrator needs to monitor memory utilization of an Amazon EC2 instance. The default Amazon CloudWatch metrics for EC2 do not include memory utilization. Which solution should the administrator implement to collect memory metrics and set alarms?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse 'detailed monitoring' with the ability to collect additional metrics, but detailed monitoring only increases the resolution of existing metrics, not the scope of what is collected.
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
✓
Install the CloudWatch agent on the instance and configure it to collect memory metrics
The CloudWatch agent is specifically designed to collect custom metrics, such as memory utilization, from EC2 instances and on-premises servers. Unlike the default EC2 metrics, which only capture hypervisor-level metrics (e.g., CPU, disk I/O, network), memory utilization requires OS-level access. The CloudWatch agent uses the `mem` plugin to gather memory data and can publish it to CloudWatch as custom metrics, enabling alarm configuration.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Install the CloudWatch agent on the instance and configure it to collect memory metrics
Why this is correct
The CloudWatch agent runs inside the instance and collects operating system-level metrics, including memory utilization, and sends them to CloudWatch as custom metrics. After installing and configuring the agent, you can create CloudWatch alarms on metrics like mem_used_percent. This is required because EC2 hypervisor-level monitoring cannot see guest OS memory usage.
- ✗
Enable detailed monitoring on the EC2 instance
Why it's wrong here
Enabling detailed monitoring only changes the frequency of the default EC2 metrics (CPU, network, disk I/O) from every 5 minutes to every 1 minute. The default metric set still does not include in-guest memory utilization, so even with 1-minute data, no memory values appear. To monitor memory, an in-guest agent must be installed and configured to emit custom metrics.
- ✗
Use AWS Systems Manager Patch Manager to report memory usage
Why it's wrong here
AWS Systems Manager Patch Manager automates scanning and installation of patches on managed instances; it does not collect or send performance telemetry such as memory utilization. Even though the SSM agent runs on the instance, Patch Manager's role is strictly patching and patch compliance, not metric reporting. Therefore, Patch Manager cannot help you monitor memory usage in CloudWatch.
- ✗
Use AWS CloudTrail to log memory events
Why it's wrong here
AWS CloudTrail records API activity in the AWS control plane, such as EC2 RunInstances or DescribeInstances calls, for security and auditing purposes. It does not capture guest OS events or internal metrics like memory utilization from inside an instance. Because memory usage is an in-guest metric rather than an API activity, CloudTrail logs are irrelevant to this monitoring need.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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