- A
Amazon CloudWatch metric (CPUUtilization), a CloudWatch alarm, and an Amazon SNS topic.
This combination allows monitoring of the metric, evaluation against a threshold, and notification via SNS. It is the simplest and most direct method.
- B
Amazon CloudWatch Logs, a metric filter to extract CPU utilization from logs, and an alarm on that metric.
Why wrong: CPU utilization is already available as a CloudWatch metric; using a log-based metric filter is unnecessary and adds complexity. The EC2 instance would need to emit CPU utilization as log entries, which is not the standard way.
- C
A CloudWatch dashboard and an AWS Lambda function that checks the dashboard periodically.
Why wrong: Dashboards are for visualization, not for triggering alerts. Using a Lambda function to poll the dashboard is inefficient and not a designed practice.
- D
Amazon EventBridge (CloudWatch Events) and a Lambda function that calls the EC2 DescribeInstances API.
Why wrong: EventBridge can schedule events, but it does not provide direct CPU monitoring. A Lambda function would need to retrieve and analyze CloudWatch metrics, which is more complex than using a CloudWatch alarm directly.
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. A key principle to apply: cloudWatch automatically collects standard EC2 metrics like CPUUtilization.. 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 needs to monitor the CPU utilization of an Amazon EC2 instance and send an alert when it exceeds 90% for 5 consecutive minutes. Which combination of AWS services should the administrator use to meet this requirement?
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
Amazon CloudWatch metric (CPUUtilization), a CloudWatch alarm, and an Amazon SNS topic.
The correct approach is to use a CloudWatch metric for CPUUtilization, which is automatically published by EC2 instances. A CloudWatch alarm can be configured to evaluate this metric over a period of 5 consecutive minutes with a threshold of 90%, and when the alarm state is triggered, it publishes to an SNS topic to send notifications. This is the native, efficient, and recommended method for monitoring and alerting on EC2 CPU utilization.
Key principle: CloudWatch automatically collects standard EC2 metrics like CPUUtilization.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Amazon CloudWatch metric (CPUUtilization), a CloudWatch alarm, and an Amazon SNS topic.
Why this is correct
This combination allows monitoring of the metric, evaluation against a threshold, and notification via SNS. It is the simplest and most direct method.
Related concept
CloudWatch automatically collects standard EC2 metrics like CPUUtilization.
- ✗
Amazon CloudWatch Logs, a metric filter to extract CPU utilization from logs, and an alarm on that metric.
Why it's wrong here
CPU utilization is already available as a CloudWatch metric; using a log-based metric filter is unnecessary and adds complexity. The EC2 instance would need to emit CPU utilization as log entries, which is not the standard way.
- ✗
A CloudWatch dashboard and an AWS Lambda function that checks the dashboard periodically.
Why it's wrong here
Dashboards are for visualization, not for triggering alerts. Using a Lambda function to poll the dashboard is inefficient and not a designed practice.
- ✗
Amazon EventBridge (CloudWatch Events) and a Lambda function that calls the EC2 DescribeInstances API.
Why it's wrong here
EventBridge can schedule events, but it does not provide direct CPU monitoring. A Lambda function would need to retrieve and analyze CloudWatch metrics, which is more complex than using a CloudWatch alarm directly.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may confuse CloudWatch Logs metric filters (used for custom log-based metrics) with the built-in EC2 metrics, or think that EventBridge can directly access CPU utilization data, when in fact CPUUtilization is a CloudWatch metric and must be monitored via CloudWatch alarms.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The CPUUtilization metric is published by the EC2 instance at a default 5-minute frequency (or 1-minute with detailed monitoring enabled). A CloudWatch alarm evaluates the metric over a specified number of consecutive periods (e.g., 5 periods of 1 minute each) using a statistic like 'Average' or 'Maximum'. The alarm transitions to ALARM state only when the threshold is breached for the specified consecutive datapoints, preventing false positives from transient spikes. SNS then delivers notifications via email, SMS, or HTTP endpoints.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- CloudWatch automatically collects standard EC2 metrics like CPUUtilization.
- CloudWatch alarms evaluate metrics against thresholds over time.
- SNS topics are used by CloudWatch alarms to send notifications.
- Alarms can be configured with evaluation periods and data points to ensure sustained breaches.
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
CloudWatch automatically collects standard EC2 metrics like CPUUtilization.
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. CloudWatch automatically collects standard EC2 metrics like CPUUtilization. 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.
Review cloudWatch automatically collects standard EC2 metrics like CPUUtilization., then practise related SOA-C02 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
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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 — CloudWatch automatically collects standard EC2 metrics like CPUUtilization..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Amazon CloudWatch metric (CPUUtilization), a CloudWatch alarm, and an Amazon SNS topic. — The correct approach is to use a CloudWatch metric for CPUUtilization, which is automatically published by EC2 instances. A CloudWatch alarm can be configured to evaluate this metric over a period of 5 consecutive minutes with a threshold of 90%, and when the alarm state is triggered, it publishes to an SNS topic to send notifications. This is the native, efficient, and recommended method for monitoring and alerting on EC2 CPU utilization.
What should I do if I get this SOA-C02 question wrong?
Review cloudWatch automatically collects standard EC2 metrics like CPUUtilization., then practise related SOA-C02 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
What is the key concept behind this question?
CloudWatch automatically collects standard EC2 metrics like CPUUtilization.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
This SOA-C02 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the SOA-C02 exam.
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