- A
Use the EC2 detailed monitoring feature to collect disk metrics.
Why wrong: EC2 detailed monitoring provides hypervisor-level metrics (CPU, network, etc.) but not guest OS metrics like disk usage.
- B
Install the Amazon CloudWatch Agent on the instances and configure it to collect disk metrics.
Correct. The CloudWatch agent collects custom metrics from the OS, including disk utilization, and sends them to CloudWatch for alarming.
- C
Use AWS Systems Manager Patch Manager to check disk space.
Why wrong: Patch Manager installs patches; it does not provide continuous monitoring or metrics for disk usage.
- D
Configure an Amazon CloudWatch metric filter on the system log.
Why wrong: Metric filters parse log data, but system logs may not include disk utilization at the required granularity, and this approach is not designed for numeric metrics.
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 needs to monitor the disk usage on Amazon EC2 instances running Linux. The administrator wants to collect disk utilization metrics every 5 minutes and set up an alarm when disk usage exceeds 80%. Which solution meets these requirements?
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 Amazon CloudWatch Agent on the instances and configure it to collect disk metrics.
The Amazon CloudWatch Agent is required to collect custom metrics like disk utilization from EC2 instances. It can be configured to gather disk space metrics every 5 minutes and publish them to CloudWatch, where an alarm can be set to trigger when usage exceeds 80%. EC2 detailed monitoring only collects hypervisor-level metrics (CPU, network, disk I/O), not guest OS-level disk usage.
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.
- ✗
Use the EC2 detailed monitoring feature to collect disk metrics.
Why it's wrong here
EC2 detailed monitoring provides hypervisor-level metrics (CPU, network, etc.) but not guest OS metrics like disk usage.
- ✓
Install the Amazon CloudWatch Agent on the instances and configure it to collect disk metrics.
Why this is correct
Correct. The CloudWatch agent collects custom metrics from the OS, including disk utilization, and sends them to CloudWatch for alarming.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Use AWS Systems Manager Patch Manager to check disk space.
Why it's wrong here
Patch Manager installs patches; it does not provide continuous monitoring or metrics for disk usage.
- ✗
Configure an Amazon CloudWatch metric filter on the system log.
Why it's wrong here
Metric filters parse log data, but system logs may not include disk utilization at the required granularity, and this approach is not designed for numeric metrics.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse EC2 detailed monitoring (which collects hypervisor-level metrics) with the ability to collect guest OS metrics like disk usage, leading them to choose Option A incorrectly.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The CloudWatch Agent uses the 'procstat' and 'disk' plugins to collect filesystem usage from /proc/mounts and df commands on Linux. It publishes these as custom metrics under the CWAgent namespace, allowing granular alarm thresholds. A common real-world scenario is monitoring root filesystem usage on auto-scaled instances, where the agent must be installed via user data or Systems Manager to ensure consistent metric collection.
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 healthcare organisation deploys an application with a public-facing web tier and a private database tier. The database subnet has no public IP and only accepts connections from the web tier's security group. Questions like this test whether you can design cloud network isolation using VNets/VPCs, subnets, and security group rules.
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: Install the Amazon CloudWatch Agent on the instances and configure it to collect disk metrics. — The Amazon CloudWatch Agent is required to collect custom metrics like disk utilization from EC2 instances. It can be configured to gather disk space metrics every 5 minutes and publish them to CloudWatch, where an alarm can be set to trigger when usage exceeds 80%. EC2 detailed monitoring only collects hypervisor-level metrics (CPU, network, disk I/O), not guest OS-level disk usage.
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.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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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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