The answer is to use the CloudWatch agent or a custom script that pushes data via the PutMetricData API. This is correct because EC2 does not collect memory metrics by default—the hypervisor only tracks CPU and network, not in-guest resources like RAM. To collect EC2 memory metrics, you must install the CloudWatch agent on the instance, which reads from the OS and sends custom metrics to CloudWatch, or write a script that calls PutMetricData directly. On the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate SOA-C02 exam, this tests your understanding that memory is a guest-level metric requiring an agent or script, not a native EC2 feature. A common trap is assuming the basic CloudWatch monitoring or detailed monitoring includes memory—it does not. Remember the mnemonic: “Memory is a guest, not a host”—meaning you must go inside the instance to get it.
SOA-C02 Monitoring, Logging, and Remediation Practice Question
This SOA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of monitoring, logging, and remediation. 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 SysOps administrator needs to monitor the CPU and memory utilization of an EC2 instance running a legacy application that cannot be modified. Which TWO methods can be used to collect this information? (Choose TWO.)
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Install the CloudWatch agent on the instance and configure it to collect memory metrics.
Option B is correct because the CloudWatch agent can be installed on an EC2 instance to collect custom metrics, including memory utilization, which is not available by default from the hypervisor. The agent sends these metrics to CloudWatch using the PutMetricData API, enabling monitoring of in-guest resources like memory and disk.
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.
✗
Enable detailed monitoring on the instance to get memory metrics.
Why it's wrong here
Detailed monitoring provides 1-minute CPU metrics, not memory.
✓
Install the CloudWatch agent on the instance and configure it to collect memory metrics.
Why this is correct
The agent can collect memory and CPU metrics.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Use a custom script to push memory data to CloudWatch via the PutMetricData API.
Why this is correct
A script can collect memory and publish to CloudWatch as custom metrics.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use the EC2 hypervisor metrics available from CloudWatch.
Why it's wrong here
Hypervisor provides CPU metrics but not memory.
✗
Use AWS Systems Manager Inventory to collect memory utilization.
Why it's wrong here
Inventory collects software inventory, not real-time metrics.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume detailed monitoring or hypervisor metrics include memory utilization, not realizing that memory is an in-guest metric requiring an agent or custom script to collect.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The CloudWatch agent uses the proc file system on Linux (e.g., /proc/meminfo) or Performance Counters on Windows to gather memory metrics, then publishes them via the PutMetricData API with a namespace like 'CWAgent'. Custom scripts can also push memory data by reading /proc/meminfo and calling PutMetricData directly, but both methods require in-guest access since the hypervisor does not expose guest memory usage due to the virtualization boundary.
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: Install the CloudWatch agent on the instance and configure it to collect memory metrics. — Option B is correct because the CloudWatch agent can be installed on an EC2 instance to collect custom metrics, including memory utilization, which is not available by default from the hypervisor. The agent sends these metrics to CloudWatch using the PutMetricData API, enabling monitoring of in-guest resources like memory and disk.
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
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 →
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A SysOps administrator needs to monitor the memory utilization of an EC2 instance running a custom application. The instance is not using the default CloudWatch metrics for memory. What should the administrator do to collect memory metrics?
easy
A.Enable detailed monitoring on the EC2 instance
B.Use AWS Trusted Advisor to check memory utilization
C.Use Amazon Inspector to monitor memory
✓ D.Install and configure the CloudWatch agent on the instance
Why D: The default CloudWatch metrics for EC2 include CPU, disk, and network utilization, but not memory utilization. To collect custom metrics like memory usage, you must install and configure the CloudWatch agent on the instance. The agent collects memory and disk metrics from the OS and sends them to CloudWatch as custom metrics.
Variation 2. A SysOps administrator needs to monitor the memory utilization of an EC2 instance running Amazon Linux 2. Which of the following is required to publish memory metrics to CloudWatch?
easy
A.Use the CloudWatch Logs agent to parse memory usage from system logs.
✓ B.Install and configure the CloudWatch agent on the instance.
C.Enable detailed monitoring on the instance.
D.Install the AWS Systems Manager Agent (SSM Agent) and configure it to send metrics.
Why B: The CloudWatch agent is specifically designed to collect custom metrics, such as memory utilization, from EC2 instances and publish them to CloudWatch. Unlike the default EC2 monitoring, which only captures hypervisor-level metrics (CPU, network, disk), memory utilization requires an in-guest agent to read from the operating system's /proc/meminfo or similar interfaces. The CloudWatch agent can be configured via a JSON file to collect memory metrics and send them to CloudWatch using the PutMetricData API.
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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
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