- A
Manually terminate the unhealthy instance after the alarm triggers.
Why wrong: Manual intervention is not automated and introduces delay.
- B
Configure the CloudWatch alarm to take the action of terminating the instance.
Termination triggers the Auto Scaling group to launch a replacement instance.
- C
Configure the CloudWatch alarm to send a notification to an SNS topic.
Why wrong: Notification alone does not automatically replace the instance.
- D
Configure the Auto Scaling group to use ELB health checks.
Why wrong: ELB health checks are for load balancer targets; using CloudWatch alarms is a more direct method for instance health.
- E
Create a CloudWatch alarm on the 'StatusCheckFailed' metric for each instance.
StatusCheckFailed indicates an instance that is not responding.
Quick Answer
The answer is to create a CloudWatch alarm on the 'StatusCheckFailed' metric for each instance, which is the correct step because this alarm can directly trigger an Auto Scaling lifecycle action to terminate and automatically replace unhealthy EC2 instances. By integrating the CloudWatch alarm with the Auto Scaling group, the system detects a failed status check and initiates a replacement without manual intervention, ensuring high availability for critical applications. On the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate SOA-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how CloudWatch alarms and Auto Scaling work together for automated instance recovery, a common trap being that you must use the 'StatusCheckFailed' metric rather than CPU utilization or memory metrics, which do not indicate underlying health. A useful memory tip is to think "StatusCheckFailed equals Auto Scaling termination" — if the instance fails, the alarm fires and the group replaces it, keeping your fleet healthy.
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 company runs a critical application on Amazon EC2 instances in an Auto Scaling group. The SysOps administrator needs to detect and automatically replace an instance that is not responding to health checks. Which THREE steps should the administrator take? (Choose THREE.)
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 CloudWatch alarm to take the action of terminating the instance.
Option B is correct because a CloudWatch alarm configured on the 'StatusCheckFailed' metric can directly trigger an Auto Scaling action to terminate the unhealthy instance. This integrates with the Auto Scaling group's lifecycle to automatically replace the instance without manual intervention, meeting the requirement for automated detection and replacement.
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.
- ✗
Manually terminate the unhealthy instance after the alarm triggers.
Why it's wrong here
Manual intervention is not automated and introduces delay.
- ✓
Configure the CloudWatch alarm to take the action of terminating the instance.
Why this is correct
Termination triggers the Auto Scaling group to launch a replacement instance.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Configure the CloudWatch alarm to send a notification to an SNS topic.
Why it's wrong here
Notification alone does not automatically replace the instance.
- ✗
Configure the Auto Scaling group to use ELB health checks.
Why it's wrong here
ELB health checks are for load balancer targets; using CloudWatch alarms is a more direct method for instance health.
- ✓
Create a CloudWatch alarm on the 'StatusCheckFailed' metric for each instance.
Why this is correct
StatusCheckFailed indicates an instance that is not responding.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse sending an SNS notification (Option C) with automated remediation, but notifications alone do not trigger instance replacement; the action must be a direct termination or scaling action.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The 'StatusCheckFailed' metric aggregates both instance status checks (system reachability) and system status checks (physical host issues). When an alarm on this metric triggers, it can invoke an Auto Scaling lifecycle hook or directly terminate the instance via a CloudWatch action, causing the Auto Scaling group to launch a replacement. This approach ensures rapid recovery even if the instance becomes unresponsive to network-level pings or application-level health checks.
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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Monitoring, Logging, and Remediation — study guide chapter
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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: Configure the CloudWatch alarm to take the action of terminating the instance. — Option B is correct because a CloudWatch alarm configured on the 'StatusCheckFailed' metric can directly trigger an Auto Scaling action to terminate the unhealthy instance. This integrates with the Auto Scaling group's lifecycle to automatically replace the instance without manual intervention, meeting the requirement for automated detection and replacement.
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 24, 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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