- A
Update the Auto Scaling group to remove the affected Availability Zone from the list of enabled AZs.
Removing the AZ prevents the ASG from launching instances in the affected AZ.
- B
Manually terminate all instances in the affected Availability Zone.
Why wrong: Terminating instances reduces capacity and may cause an outage.
- C
Increase the desired capacity of the Auto Scaling group to account for the lost capacity.
Increasing desired capacity ensures enough instances remain in the healthy AZs.
- D
Create a new launch configuration with a different AMI.
Why wrong: Changing the AMI does not address the AZ issue.
- E
Disable the dynamic scaling policy to prevent scaling.
Why wrong: Disabling scaling may lead to insufficient capacity.
Question 1,170 of 1,546
Planned Maintenance: Removing an Availability Zone
This SOA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of reliability and business continuity. 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 company runs a critical application on EC2 instances in an Auto Scaling group. The group uses a dynamic scaling policy based on CPU utilization. The SysOps administrator wants to ensure that the application remains available during a planned maintenance event that will take down one of the Availability Zones. Which TWO actions should the administrator take? (Choose two.)
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
✓
Update the Auto Scaling group to remove the affected Availability Zone from the list of enabled AZs.
Option A is correct because removing the affected Availability Zone from the Auto Scaling group prevents the group from launching new instances in a zone that will become unavailable during maintenance. This ensures that any new instances are launched only in the remaining healthy Availability Zones, maintaining application availability. Option C is correct because increasing the desired capacity temporarily compensates for the instances that will be terminated or become unreachable in the affected zone, ensuring the group has enough running instances to handle the load.
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.
- ✓
Update the Auto Scaling group to remove the affected Availability Zone from the list of enabled AZs.
Why this is correct
Removing the AZ prevents the ASG from launching instances in the affected AZ.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Manually terminate all instances in the affected Availability Zone.
Why it's wrong here
Terminating instances reduces capacity and may cause an outage.
- ✓
Increase the desired capacity of the Auto Scaling group to account for the lost capacity.
Why this is correct
Increasing desired capacity ensures enough instances remain in the healthy AZs.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Create a new launch configuration with a different AMI.
Why it's wrong here
Changing the AMI does not address the AZ issue.
- ✗
Disable the dynamic scaling policy to prevent scaling.
Why it's wrong here
Disabling scaling may lead to insufficient capacity.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may think manually terminating instances (Option B) is a valid proactive step, but it actually causes immediate disruption and does not prevent the Auto Scaling group from launching replacements in the same failing zone unless the zone is first removed.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
When an Availability Zone is removed from an Auto Scaling group, the group redistributes instances across the remaining zones based on the group's balancing policy, and any existing instances in the removed zone are not automatically terminated but will not be replaced if they fail. Increasing desired capacity before the event ensures that the group has a buffer of instances to absorb the loss, and the dynamic scaling policy can still operate to adjust based on actual CPU utilization. Under the hood, the Auto Scaling group uses the list of enabled Availability Zones from the subnets specified in the launch template or launch configuration, and modifying this list triggers a rebalancing action.
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.
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Reliability and Business Continuity — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SOA-C02 question test?
Reliability and Business Continuity — This question tests Reliability and Business Continuity — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Update the Auto Scaling group to remove the affected Availability Zone from the list of enabled AZs. — Option A is correct because removing the affected Availability Zone from the Auto Scaling group prevents the group from launching new instances in a zone that will become unavailable during maintenance. This ensures that any new instances are launched only in the remaining healthy Availability Zones, maintaining application availability. Option C is correct because increasing the desired capacity temporarily compensates for the instances that will be terminated or become unreachable in the affected zone, ensuring the group has enough running instances to handle the load.
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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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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