- A
Disable cross-zone load balancing on the ALB.
Why wrong: Disabling cross-zone load balancing would not fix the underlying health issue and could reduce fault tolerance.
- B
Configure the Auto Scaling group to scale out based on average CPU utilization and ensure sufficient capacity.
Scaling out based on CPU utilization adds more instances to handle the load, reducing CPU spikes and preventing 503 errors.
- C
Increase the deregistration delay on the ALB target group to allow in-flight requests to complete.
Why wrong: This would not address the root cause of high CPU utilization causing health check failures.
- D
Decrease the health check interval to detect unhealthy instances faster.
Why wrong: Decreasing the interval would not resolve the high CPU usage; it may cause more frequent health checks, increasing load.
Quick Answer
The correct answer is to configure the Auto Scaling group to scale out based on average CPU utilization and ensure sufficient capacity. This is because when EC2 instances experience high CPU utilization, they can fail the ALB’s health checks, causing the load balancer to mark them as unhealthy and stop routing traffic, which results in intermittent 503 errors. On the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate SOA-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how ALB 503 errors from high CPU and auto scaling are directly linked—scaling policies must react to CPU spikes before instances become overwhelmed. A common trap is confusing health check intervals or deregistration delays with capacity management; remember that the root cause is insufficient compute resources, not the timing of health checks. Memory tip: “503 means overload—scale out on CPU to unload.”
SOA-C02 Networking and Content Delivery Practice Question
This SOA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of networking and content delivery. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 company uses an Application Load Balancer (ALB) to distribute traffic to an Auto Scaling group of EC2 instances. Users report intermittent 503 errors. The SysOps Administrator checks the ALB metrics and sees that the Sum of HTTP 503s correlates with spikes in CPU utilization on the EC2 instances. What is the MOST likely cause and solution?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"most likely"Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
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
Configure the Auto Scaling group to scale out based on average CPU utilization and ensure sufficient capacity.
Option C is correct because high CPU utilization on instances can cause them to become unhealthy, leading the ALB to stop sending traffic and returning 503 errors. Option A is wrong because cross-zone load balancing distributes traffic evenly across all zones; disabling it could worsen the issue. Option B is wrong because decreasing the health check interval would make the ALB check more frequently, potentially marking instances unhealthy faster. Option D is wrong because increasing the deregistration delay only affects instances being deregistered, not the current issue.
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.
- ✗
Disable cross-zone load balancing on the ALB.
Why it's wrong here
Disabling cross-zone load balancing would not fix the underlying health issue and could reduce fault tolerance.
- ✓
Configure the Auto Scaling group to scale out based on average CPU utilization and ensure sufficient capacity.
Why this is correct
Scaling out based on CPU utilization adds more instances to handle the load, reducing CPU spikes and preventing 503 errors.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Increase the deregistration delay on the ALB target group to allow in-flight requests to complete.
Why it's wrong here
This would not address the root cause of high CPU utilization causing health check failures.
- ✗
Decrease the health check interval to detect unhealthy instances faster.
Why it's wrong here
Decreasing the interval would not resolve the high CPU usage; it may cause more frequent health checks, increasing load.
Common exam traps
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.
Detailed technical explanation
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.
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
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which SOA-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
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Networking and Content Delivery — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SOA-C02 question test?
Networking and Content Delivery — This question tests Networking and Content Delivery — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Configure the Auto Scaling group to scale out based on average CPU utilization and ensure sufficient capacity. — Option C is correct because high CPU utilization on instances can cause them to become unhealthy, leading the ALB to stop sending traffic and returning 503 errors. Option A is wrong because cross-zone load balancing distributes traffic evenly across all zones; disabling it could worsen the issue. Option B is wrong because decreasing the health check interval would make the ALB check more frequently, potentially marking instances unhealthy faster. Option D is wrong because increasing the deregistration delay only affects instances being deregistered, not the current issue.
What should I do if I get this SOA-C02 question wrong?
Identify which SOA-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
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 20, 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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