CV0-004 Deployment Practice Question
A company is deploying a multi-tier application on AWS using AWS CloudFormation. The application consists of an Auto Scaling group, an RDS instance, and an Application Load Balancer. The team needs to ensure that the RDS instance is created before the Auto Scaling group and that the Auto Scaling group is updated only after the load balancer is ready. Which CloudFormation feature should be used to define these dependencies?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse CreationPolicy with dependency management; CreationPolicy waits for signals but does not enforce that one resource is created before another.
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
✓
DependsOn attribute
The DependsOn attribute explicitly defines dependencies between CloudFormation resources, ensuring that the RDS instance is created before the Auto Scaling group and that the Auto Scaling group waits for the load balancer. CreationPolicy and UpdatePolicy control signaling and update behavior, not creation order, and Metadata is for informational purposes only.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Metadata section
Why it's wrong here
The Metadata section provides additional information about resources, such as AWS CloudFormation Designer metadata or cfn-init configuration. It does not influence resource creation order or dependencies. It is purely for informational or tooling purposes and cannot enforce that one resource is provisioned before another.
- ✓
DependsOn attribute
Why this is correct
The DependsOn attribute in CloudFormation explicitly defines that a resource creation or update depends on another resource. By specifying DependsOn, you can ensure that the RDS instance is created before the Auto Scaling group, and the Auto Scaling group waits for the load balancer. This controls the order of resource provisioning and updates, meeting the requirement.
- ✗
UpdatePolicy attribute
Why it's wrong here
UpdatePolicy controls how updates are applied to resources like Auto Scaling groups during a stack update, such as rolling updates. It does not establish creation order or dependencies between different resource types. It is used to manage the update behavior of a single resource, not to sequence multiple resources.
- ✗
CreationPolicy attribute
Why it's wrong here
CreationPolicy is used to wait for signals from resources like EC2 instances or Auto Scaling groups before considering a stack operation complete. It does not define dependencies between resources; it only pauses stack creation until a signal is received. It cannot enforce that one resource is created before another, so it does not meet the requirement.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official CompTIA exam blueprint
This CV0-004 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA 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 CV0-004 exam.