The answer is to create a CloudWatch alarm that publishes to an SNS topic, which triggers a Lambda function to terminate the instance. This is correct because it establishes an event-driven automation pipeline: the CloudWatch alarm monitors the metric threshold, and when breached, it sends a notification to SNS, which then invokes a Lambda function containing the custom logic to terminate the EC2 instance. On the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate SOA-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how to automate EC2 termination based on metric threshold without relying on manual checks or EC2 Auto Scaling lifecycle hooks. A common trap is choosing EC2 Auto Scaling termination policies, but those only work within an Auto Scaling group and cannot react to arbitrary CloudWatch metrics. Remember the mnemonic “CAT-L” — CloudWatch Alarm triggers SNS Topic, which triggers Lambda — to recall the correct service chain for custom metric-driven instance termination.
SOA-C02 Monitoring, Logging, and Remediation Practice Question
This SOA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of monitoring, logging, and remediation. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 is managing a fleet of EC2 instances that run a batch processing job. The job is completed when a certain metric in CloudWatch reaches a value. Currently, the administrator manually checks the metric and terminates the instances. Which AWS service can automate the termination of the instances when the metric threshold is breached?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create a CloudWatch alarm that publishes to an SNS topic, which triggers a Lambda function to terminate the instance.
Option B is correct because CloudWatch alarms can trigger an SNS topic when a metric threshold is breached, and a Lambda function subscribed to that topic can execute custom code to terminate the EC2 instances. This provides a fully automated, event-driven remediation workflow without manual intervention.
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 AWS Config to detect the metric and terminate the instance.
Why it's wrong here
AWS Config is for configuration compliance, not metric monitoring.
✓
Create a CloudWatch alarm that publishes to an SNS topic, which triggers a Lambda function to terminate the instance.
Why this is correct
This is a common pattern for automated remediation.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Place the instances in an Auto Scaling group and use a lifecycle hook.
Why it's wrong here
Lifecycle hooks are for scaling events, not metric-based termination.
✗
Configure a CloudWatch alarm to terminate the instance directly.
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may think CloudWatch alarms can directly terminate instances (Option D), but CloudWatch only supports direct EC2 actions for reboot, stop, and recover—not terminate—so a Lambda function is required for termination.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, the CloudWatch alarm transitions to ALARM state when the metric breaches the threshold for a specified number of evaluation periods. The SNS topic delivers the alarm notification to the Lambda function, which uses the AWS SDK (e.g., boto3 for Python) to call the ec2.terminate_instances API. A real-world scenario might involve a batch job that emits a custom metric (e.g., 'JobComplete') to CloudWatch; the alarm triggers termination only after the metric remains at the target value for multiple consecutive periods to avoid false positives.
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.
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: Create a CloudWatch alarm that publishes to an SNS topic, which triggers a Lambda function to terminate the instance. — Option B is correct because CloudWatch alarms can trigger an SNS topic when a metric threshold is breached, and a Lambda function subscribed to that topic can execute custom code to terminate the EC2 instances. This provides a fully automated, event-driven remediation workflow without manual intervention.
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.
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Question Discussion
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