SOA-C02 Monitoring, Logging, and Remediation Practice Question
Network Topology
Refer to the exhibit. The command returns no datapoints for CPUUtilization for the specified instance. What is the most likely reason?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers assume missing datapoints are due to a configuration issue (like detailed monitoring not enabled or wrong period), when in fact the instance simply wasn't running during the queried time window.
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 instance was stopped or did not emit metrics during the specified time range.
The most likely reason for no datapoints is that the instance was stopped or did not emit metrics during the specified time range. CloudWatch only retains and returns metric data when the instance is running and the CloudWatch agent or EC2 hypervisor is actively publishing CPUUtilization. If the instance was in a stopped state, no metrics are generated, resulting in an empty response from the GetMetricStatistics API call.
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 instance was stopped or did not emit metrics during the specified time range.
Why this is correct
CloudWatch retains CPUUtilization only while the instance runs; a stopped instance emits no datapoints, so the queried period returns an empty result set. The metric namespace and dimensions remain valid, making the instance's stopped state the reason no datapoints appear for the specified range.
- ✗
The metric name is incorrect.
Why it's wrong here
CloudWatch returns an empty datapoint set when the namespace, metric name, or dimensions do not match a published metric, so a misspelt metric name yields exactly this result. It is tempting because metric names are easy to mistype, and it would be correct if the exhibit showed a name differing from the documented one.
- ✗
The instance does not have detailed monitoring enabled.
Why it's wrong here
Detailed monitoring only changes the metric's resolution to one-minute intervals; it does not create datapoints where none exist. The command returns nothing because the queried time range predates the instance's launch or the wrong dimensions were supplied. Enabling detailed monitoring is the right step when you need finer granularity than five-minute basic metrics.
- ✗
The period of 300 seconds is too short.
Why it's wrong here
A 300-second period is valid for CPUUtilization; an unsupported period produces an error, not an empty datapoint list, so period length is not the cause. It is tempting because short periods can return sparse data, and it would be correct if the requested period were below the metric's minimum resolution.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.