- A
Create a composite alarm that enters ALARM state when any of the 12 child alarms is in ALARM state, and configure a single SNS action on the composite alarm only
The composite alarm's rule expression 'ALARM(alarm1) OR ALARM(alarm2) OR ...' triggers when any child fires. By routing all notifications through the composite alarm's action and removing actions from the child alarms, exactly one notification is sent per incident. Child alarm states remain visible in the console for root cause analysis.
- B
Increase the alarm evaluation period on all 12 alarms to 30 minutes so they fire less frequently
Why wrong: Increasing the evaluation period delays detection and may cause alarms to aggregate naturally by waiting, but it does not reduce simultaneous notifications for a correlated event. If all metrics degrade together (as they do when an instance fails), all 12 alarms still fire after the longer period.
- C
Use an SNS topic with a delivery policy that batches notifications sent within a 60-second window
Why wrong: SNS does not have a built-in batching policy that combines multiple messages into one delivery. Each alarm state change publishes a separate SNS message. Batching would require a custom Lambda subscriber that de-duplicates messages, adding custom code.
- D
Configure all 12 alarms to write to the same CloudWatch Events rule and suppress duplicate events with EventBridge deduplication
Why wrong: EventBridge does not have a built-in deduplication or batching feature for alarm events. Without custom logic (e.g., a Lambda with deduplication state), every alarm event still produces a notification downstream.
SOA-C02 Practice Question: CloudWatch composite alarms to reduce alert…
This SOA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of monitoring, logging, and remediation. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. A key principle to apply: cloudWatch composite alarms. 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 environment has 12 individual CloudWatch metric alarms covering CPU, memory, disk, and network. When one instance degrades, all 12 alarms fire simultaneously and send 12 separate notifications to the on-call engineer. The team wants a single notification per incident regardless of how many individual alarms trigger. What CloudWatch feature addresses this?
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
Create a composite alarm that enters ALARM state when any of the 12 child alarms is in ALARM state, and configure a single SNS action on the composite alarm only
Option A is correct because a composite alarm in CloudWatch can aggregate multiple child alarms into a single parent alarm. When any of the 12 child alarms enters the ALARM state, the composite alarm transitions to ALARM and triggers a single SNS notification, thereby reducing alert noise to one notification per incident.
Key principle: CloudWatch composite alarms
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Create a composite alarm that enters ALARM state when any of the 12 child alarms is in ALARM state, and configure a single SNS action on the composite alarm only
Why this is correct
The composite alarm's rule expression 'ALARM(alarm1) OR ALARM(alarm2) OR ...' triggers when any child fires. By routing all notifications through the composite alarm's action and removing actions from the child alarms, exactly one notification is sent per incident. Child alarm states remain visible in the console for root cause analysis.
Related concept
CloudWatch composite alarms
- ✗
Increase the alarm evaluation period on all 12 alarms to 30 minutes so they fire less frequently
Why it's wrong here
Increasing the evaluation period delays detection and may cause alarms to aggregate naturally by waiting, but it does not reduce simultaneous notifications for a correlated event. If all metrics degrade together (as they do when an instance fails), all 12 alarms still fire after the longer period.
- ✗
Use an SNS topic with a delivery policy that batches notifications sent within a 60-second window
Why it's wrong here
SNS does not have a built-in batching policy that combines multiple messages into one delivery. Each alarm state change publishes a separate SNS message. Batching would require a custom Lambda subscriber that de-duplicates messages, adding custom code.
- ✗
Configure all 12 alarms to write to the same CloudWatch Events rule and suppress duplicate events with EventBridge deduplication
Why it's wrong here
EventBridge does not have a built-in deduplication or batching feature for alarm events. Without custom logic (e.g., a Lambda with deduplication state), every alarm event still produces a notification downstream.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may think SNS batching or EventBridge deduplication can consolidate separate alarm notifications, but those services do not aggregate distinct alarm state changes into a single event; only composite alarms provide that logical grouping.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Composite alarms evaluate the state of up to 200 child alarms using an alarm rule expression (e.g., ALARM('CPU') OR ALARM('Memory')). They support only the ALARM and OK states, not INSUFFICIENT_DATA, and can reduce SNS costs and engineer fatigue. A real-world scenario is a fleet of EC2 instances where a single underlying issue (e.g., a network partition) triggers CPU, memory, disk, and network alarms on multiple instances; a composite alarm ensures one notification per incident rather than a flood.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- CloudWatch composite alarms
- alarm aggregation
- alert fatigue
- ALARM state logic
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
CloudWatch composite alarms
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A healthcare organisation deploys an application with a public-facing web tier and a private database tier. The database subnet has no public IP and only accepts connections from the web tier's security group. Questions like this test whether you can design cloud network isolation using VNets/VPCs, subnets, and security group rules.
What to study next
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SOA-C02 question test?
Monitoring, Logging, and Remediation — This question tests Monitoring, Logging, and Remediation — CloudWatch composite alarms.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create a composite alarm that enters ALARM state when any of the 12 child alarms is in ALARM state, and configure a single SNS action on the composite alarm only — Option A is correct because a composite alarm in CloudWatch can aggregate multiple child alarms into a single parent alarm. When any of the 12 child alarms enters the ALARM state, the composite alarm transitions to ALARM and triggers a single SNS notification, thereby reducing alert noise to one notification per incident.
What should I do if I get this SOA-C02 question wrong?
Review cloudWatch composite alarms, then practise related SOA-C02 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
What is the key concept behind this question?
CloudWatch composite alarms
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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