CV0-004 Operations and Support Practice Question
An organization wants to automate patching of their EC2 instances running Windows Server. They need to schedule patching during a maintenance window and ensure minimal downtime. Which AWS service should they use?
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
✓
AWS Systems Manager Patch Manager
AWS Systems Manager Patch Manager automates patching and can be scheduled via maintenance windows.
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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AWS OpsWorks
Why it's wrong here
AWS OpsWorks manages configuration through Chef and Puppet stacks, but it is not the patching mechanism for EC2 instances; Patch Manager handles patch baselines and maintenance windows. It is tempting as a general configuration-management service, and it would be correct for deploying and managing application stacks via Chef recipes.
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Amazon Inspector
Why it's wrong here
Amazon Inspector is a vulnerability management service that scans workloads and reports findings; it does not install patches or schedule maintenance windows. It is tempting because it is EC2-related and security-focused, and it would be correct when the requirement is continuous vulnerability assessment rather than automated patch deployment.
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AWS CloudFormation
Why it's wrong here
CloudFormation provisions infrastructure as code from templates; it declares resources but does not apply operating system patches on a schedule. It is tempting because it automates AWS deployments, and it would be correct when the requirement is repeatable, version-controlled provisioning of infrastructure rather than patch orchestration.
- ✓
AWS Systems Manager Patch Manager
Why this is correct
AWS Systems Manager Patch Manager automates Windows Server patching through patch baselines and maintenance windows, applying approved updates and reporting compliance. It minimises downtime by controlling reboot timing and concurrency, satisfying the scheduled maintenance-window requirement for EC2 instances.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.