- A
The Auto Scaling group has a cooldown period that prevents termination.
Why wrong: Cooldown affects scaling, not CodeDeploy termination.
- B
The new instances failed the initial health check.
Why wrong: The question states they passed health checks.
- C
The deployment configuration specifies 'Reroute traffic to new instances and keep old instances running' with no termination.
Blue/green deployments can be configured to not terminate old instances automatically.
- D
The deployment was rolled back automatically.
Why wrong: Rollback would revert to old instances, but they would still be running.
SOA-C02 Deployment, Provisioning, and Automation Practice Question
This SOA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of deployment, provisioning, and automation. 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.
An organization is using AWS CodeDeploy with a blue/green deployment configuration for an EC2/On-Premises compute platform. During a deployment, the new instances pass all health checks, but the old instances are not terminated after the deployment completes. What is the most likely cause?
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
The deployment configuration specifies 'Reroute traffic to new instances and keep old instances running' with no termination.
In AWS CodeDeploy blue/green deployments for the EC2/On-Premises compute platform, the deployment configuration determines the lifecycle of the original (old) instances. Option C is correct because the deployment configuration explicitly specifies 'Reroute traffic to new instances and keep old instances running' with no termination, which instructs CodeDeploy to leave the old instances running after traffic is rerouted. This behavior is controlled by the deployment group's configuration, not by Auto Scaling or health check failures.
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.
- ✗
The Auto Scaling group has a cooldown period that prevents termination.
Why it's wrong here
Cooldown affects scaling, not CodeDeploy termination.
- ✗
The new instances failed the initial health check.
Why it's wrong here
The question states they passed health checks.
- ✓
The deployment configuration specifies 'Reroute traffic to new instances and keep old instances running' with no termination.
Why this is correct
Blue/green deployments can be configured to not terminate old instances automatically.
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.
- ✗
The deployment was rolled back automatically.
Why it's wrong here
Rollback would revert to old instances, but they would still be running.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates assume old instances are always terminated after a successful blue/green deployment, overlooking the deployment configuration option that explicitly allows keeping old instances running with no termination.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, CodeDeploy blue/green deployments use a deployment configuration that includes a 'termination behavior' setting. When set to 'keep old instances running', CodeDeploy does not invoke the termination lifecycle hook or call the Auto Scaling group's detach/terminate actions; instead, it simply reroutes traffic from the load balancer to the new instances. This is useful for canary testing or manual validation before cleanup, but it can lead to unexpected costs if left unattended. The behavior is defined in the deployment group's 'blueGreenDeploymentConfiguration' parameter under 'terminationWaitTimeInMinutes' and 'actionOnTermination'.
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
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 exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
- →
Deployment, Provisioning, and Automation — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
- →
Deployment, Provisioning, and Automation practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
- →
All SOA-C02 questions
1,546 questions across all exam domains
- →
AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate SOA-C02 study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
- →
SOA-C02 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Related SOA-C02 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Monitoring, Logging, and Remediation practice questions
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to Monitoring, Logging, and Remediation.
Reliability and Business Continuity practice questions
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to Reliability and Business Continuity.
Deployment, Provisioning, and Automation practice questions
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to Deployment, Provisioning, and Automation.
Security and Compliance practice questions
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to Security and Compliance.
Networking and Content Delivery practice questions
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to Networking and Content Delivery.
Cost and Performance Optimization practice questions
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to Cost and Performance Optimization.
SOA-C02 fundamentals practice questions
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to SOA-C02 fundamentals.
SOA-C02 scenario practice questions
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to SOA-C02 scenario.
SOA-C02 troubleshooting practice questions
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to SOA-C02 troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Start a free SOA-C02 practice session
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SOA-C02 question test?
Deployment, Provisioning, and Automation — This question tests Deployment, Provisioning, and Automation — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The deployment configuration specifies 'Reroute traffic to new instances and keep old instances running' with no termination. — In AWS CodeDeploy blue/green deployments for the EC2/On-Premises compute platform, the deployment configuration determines the lifecycle of the original (old) instances. Option C is correct because the deployment configuration explicitly specifies 'Reroute traffic to new instances and keep old instances running' with no termination, which instructs CodeDeploy to leave the old instances running after traffic is rerouted. This behavior is controlled by the deployment group's configuration, not by Auto Scaling or health check failures.
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.
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
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Keep practising
More SOA-C02 practice questions
- A company uses an Amazon DynamoDB table with on-demand capacity mode. The table handles a workload with a steady baselin…
- A company uses Amazon CloudWatch Logs to store application logs. The SysOps administrator needs to count the occurrences…
- A SysOps administrator needs to monitor the CPU utilization of an Amazon EC2 instance and send an alert when it exceeds…
- A SysOps administrator needs to monitor the CPU utilization of an Amazon EC2 instance fleet and send an alert when the a…
- A company's security policy requires that all Amazon S3 buckets must have server-side encryption enabled. The SysOps adm…
- A SysOps administrator uses AWS CloudFormation to deploy a stack that includes an Amazon EC2 instance. The administrator…
Last reviewed: Jul 4, 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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.