SOA-C02 practice questions 91–100

1. Question 91 · 475 in bank

   A SysOps administrator has created an Amazon EC2 instance using an AWS CloudFormation template in the us-east-1 Region. The administrator finds that this template has failed to create an EC2 instance in the us-west-2 Region. What is one cause for this failure?

   • AResource tags defined in the CloudFormation template are specific to the us-east-1 Region.
   • BThe Amazon Machine Image (AMI) ID referenced in the CloudFormation template could not be found in the us-west-2 Region.
   • CThe cfn-init script did not run during resource provisioning in the us-west-2 Region.
   • DThe IAM user was not created in the specified Region.

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   Answer: B

   Explanation

   B is the correct choice: B. The Amazon Machine Image (AMI) ID referenced in the CloudFormation template could not be found in the us-west-2 Region: AMIs are region-specific, and the AMI ID referenced in the template must be valid in the target region (us-west-2, in this case). If the specified AMI is not available in the us-west-2 Region, the CloudFormation stack creation will fail.

   Source: Adapted from community discussion — r2c3po

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2. Question 92 · 475 in bank

   Select 2

   A global gaming company is preparing to launch a new game on AWS. The game runs in multiple AWS Regions on a fleet of Amazon EC2 instances. The instances are in an Auto Scaling group behind an Application Load Balancer (ALB) in each Region. The company plans to use Amazon Route 53 for DNS services. The DNS configuration must direct users to the Region that is closest to them and must provide automated failover. Which combination of steps should a SysOps administrator take to configure Route 53 to meet these requirements? (Choose two.)

   • ACreate Amazon CloudWatch alarms that monitor the health of the ALB in each Region. Configure Route 53 DNS failover by using a health check that monitors the alarms.
   • BCreate Amazon CloudWatch alarms that monitor the health of the EC2 instances in each Region. Configure Route 53 DNS failover by using a health check that monitors the alarms.
   • CConfigure Route 53 DNS failover by using a health check that monitors the private IP address of an EC2 instance in each Region.
   • DConfigure Route 53 geoproximity routing. Specify the Regions that are used for the infrastructure.
   • EConfigure Route 53 simple routing. Specify the continent, country, and state or province that are used for the infrastructure.

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   Answer: AD

   Explanation

   Option B is not correct because monitoring the health of the EC2 instances is not sufficient to provide failover as the EC2 instances are in an Auto Scaling group and instances can be added or removed dynamically. Option C is not correct because monitoring the private IP address of an EC2 instance is not sufficient to determine the health of the infrastructure, as the instance may still be running but the application or service on the instance may be unhealthy. Option E is not correct because simple routing does not take into account geographic proximity, which is a requirement in this scenario.

   Source: Adapted from community discussion — Gil80

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3. Question 93 · 475 in bank

   A SysOps administrator is investigating a company’s web application for performance problems. The application runs on Amazon EC2 instances that are in an Auto Scaling group. The application receives large traffic increases at random times throughout the day. During periods of rapid traffic increases, the Auto Scaling group is not adding capacity fast enough. As a result, users are experiencing poor performance. The company wants to minimize costs without adversely affecting the user experience when web traffic surges quickly. The company needs a solution that adds more capacity to the Auto Scaling group for larger traffic increases than for smaller traffic increases. How should the SysOps administrator configure the Auto Scaling group to meet these requirements?

   • ACreate a simple scaling policy with settings to make larger adjustments in capacity when the system is under heavy load.
   • BCreate a step scaling policy with settings to make larger adjustments in capacity when the system is under heavy load.
   • CCreate a target tracking scaling policy with settings to make larger adjustments in capacity when the system is under heavy load.
   • DUse Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling lifecycle hooks. Adjust the Auto Scaling group’s maximum number of instances after every scaling event.

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   Answer: B

   Explanation

   I have to vote "B" because if you continue to read the whole quote, AWS recommends step scaling over target tracking in this instance, e.g.: "We strongly recommend that you use a target tracking scaling policy to scale on a metric like average CPU utilization or the RequestCountPerTarget metric from the Application Load Balancer. Metrics that decrease when capacity increases and increase when capacity decreases can be used to proportionally scale out or in the number of instances using target tracking. This helps ensure that Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling follows the demand curve for your applications closely." ... "You still have the option to use step scaling as an additional policy for a more advanced configuration. For example, you can configure a more aggressive response when demand reaches a certain level." https://docs.aws.amazon.com/autoscaling/ec2/userguide/as-scaling-simple-step.html

   Source: Adapted from community discussion — Gomer

   References

   • AWS documentation

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4. Question 94 · 475 in bank

   A company has a compliance requirement that no security groups can allow SSH ports to be open to all IP addresses. A SysOps administrator must implement a solution that will notify the company’s SysOps team when a security group rule violates this requirement. The solution also must remediate the security group rule automatically. Which solution will meet these requirements?

   • ACreate an Amazon EventBridge (Amazon CloudWatch Events) rule that invokes an AWS Lambda function when a security group changes. Configure the Lambda function to evaluate the security group for compliance, remove all inbound security group rules on all ports, and notify the SysOps team if the security group is noncompliant.
   • BCreate an AWS CloudTrail metric filter for security group changes. Create an Amazon CloudWatch alarm to notify the SysOps team through an Amazon Simple Notification Service (Amazon SNS) topic when the metric is greater than 0. Subscribe an AWS Lambda function to the SNS topic to remediate the security group rule by removing the rule.
   • CActivate the AWS Config restricted-ssh managed rule. Add automatic remediation to the AWS Config rule by using the AWS Systems Manager Automation AWS-DisablePublicAccessForSecurityGroup runbook. Create an Amazon EventBridge (Amazon CloudWatch Events) rule to notify the SysOps team when the rule is noncompliant.
   • DCreate an AWS CloudTrail metric filter for security group changes. Create an Amazon CloudWatch alarm for when the metric is greater than 0. Add an AWS Systems Manager action to the CloudWatch alarm to suspend the security group by using the Systems Manager Automation AWS-DisablePublicAccessForSecurityGroup runbook when the alarm is in ALARM state. Add an Amazon Simple Notification Service (Amazon SNS) topic as a second target to notify the SysOps team.

   Show answer

   Answer: C

   Explanation

   This solution combines AWS Config for rule evaluation, AWS Systems Manager Automation for automated remediation, and Amazon EventBridge for notification.

   Source: Adapted from community discussion — r2c3po

   References

   • AWS documentation

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5. Question 95 · 475 in bank

   A company has an application that runs only on Amazon EC2 Spot Instances. The instances run in an Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling group with scheduled scaling actions. However, the capacity does not always increase at the scheduled times, and instances terminate many times a day. A SysOps administrator must ensure that the instances launch on time and have fewer interruptions. Which action will meet these requirements?

   • ASpecify the capacity-optimized allocation strategy for Spot Instances. Add more instance types to the Auto Scaling group.
   • BSpecify the capacity-optimized allocation strategy for Spot Instances. Increase the size of the instances in the Auto Scaling group.
   • CSpecify the lowest-price allocation strategy for Spot Instances. Add more instance types to the Auto Scaling group.
   • DSpecify the lowest-price allocation strategy for Spot Instances. Increase the size of the instances in the Auto Scaling group.

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   Answer: A

   Explanation

   The correct answer is A. Specify the capacity-optimized allocation strategy for Spot Instances. Add more instance types to the Auto Scaling group. By using the capacity-optimized allocation strategy for Spot Instances, Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling will launch instances on the most available Spot Instance pools with the lowest prices. This helps to improve the chances of getting the required capacity at the scheduled times. Adding more instance types to the Auto Scaling group also increases the chances of finding available Spot Instances at any given time. It provides flexibility in selecting different instance types based on the availability and cost of Spot Instances in different pools. Option B (Specify the capacity-optimized allocation strategy for Spot Instances and increase the size of the instances in the Auto Scaling group) might not be the most efficient approach, as simply increasing the instance size may not necessarily address the issue of instances terminating frequently.

   Source: Adapted from community discussion — Christina666

   References

   • AWS documentation

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6. Question 96 · 475 in bank

   A company plans to deploy a database on an Amazon Aurora MySQL DB cluster. The database will store data for a demonstration environment. The data must be reset on a daily basis. What is the MOST operationally efficient solution that meets these requirements?

   • ACreate a manual snapshot of the DB cluster after the data has been populated. Create an Amazon EventBridge (Amazon CloudWatch Events) rule to invoke an AWS Lambda function on a daily basis. Configure the function to restore the snapshot and then delete the previous DB cluster.
   • BEnable the Backtrack feature during the creation of the DB cluster. Specify a target backtrack window of 48 hours. Create an Amazon EventBridge (Amazon CloudWatch Events) rule to invoke an AWS Lambda function on a daily basis. Configure the function to perform a backtrack operation.
   • CExport a manual snapshot of the DB cluster to an Amazon S3 bucket after the data has been populated. Create an Amazon EventBridge (Amazon CloudWatch Events) rule to invoke an AWS Lambda function on a daily basis. Configure the function to restore the snapshot from Amazon S3.
   • DSet the DB cluster backup retention period to 2 days. Create an Amazon EventBridge (Amazon CloudWatch Events) rule to invoke an AWS Lambda function on a daily basis. Configure the function to restore the DB cluster to a point in time and then delete the previous DB cluster.

   Show answer

   Answer: B

   Explanation

   The correct answer is B. Enable the Backtrack feature during the creation of the DB cluster. Specify a target backtrack window of 48 hours. Create an Amazon EventBridge (Amazon CloudWatch Events) rule to invoke an AWS Lambda function on a daily basis. Configure the function to perform a backtrack operation. Enabling the Backtrack feature in Amazon Aurora MySQL allows you to rewind the database cluster to a specific point in time without the need for manual snapshots. This feature is specifically designed for scenarios where you want to reset the data to a previous state, such as in a demonstration environment. By specifying a target backtrack window of 48 hours, you ensure that you have the ability to backtrack to a recent state.

   Source: Adapted from community discussion — Christina666

   References

   • AWS documentation

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7. Question 97 · 475 in bank

   A SysOps administrator is setting up an automated process to recover an Amazon EC2 instance in the event of an underlying hardware failure. The recovered instance must have the same private IP address and the same Elastic IP address that the original instance had. The SysOps team must receive an email notification when the recovery process is initiated. Which solution will meet these requirements?

   • ACreate an Amazon CloudWatch alarm for the EC2 instance, and specify the StatusCheckFailed_Instance metric. Add an EC2 action to the alarm to recover the instance. Add an alarm notification to publish a message to an Amazon Simple Notification Service (Amazon SNS) topic. Subscribe the SysOps team email address to the SNS topic.
   • BCreate an Amazon CloudWatch alarm for the EC2 instance, and specify the StatusCheckFailed_System metric. Add an EC2 action to the alarm to recover the instance. Add an alarm notification to publish a message to an Amazon Simple Notification Service (Amazon SNS) topic. Subscribe the SysOps team email address to the SNS topic.
   • CCreate an Auto Scaling group across three different subnets in the same Availability Zone with a minimum, maximum, and desired size of 1. Configure the Auto Scaling group to use a launch template that specifies the private IP address and the Elastic IP address. Add an activity notification for the Auto Scaling group to send an email message to the SysOps team through Amazon Simple Email Service (Amazon SES).
   • DCreate an Auto Scaling group across three Availability Zones with a minimum, maximum, and desired size of 1. Configure the Auto Scaling group to use a launch template that specifies the private IP address and the Elastic IP address. Add an activity notification for the Auto Scaling group to publish a message to an Amazon Simple Notification Service (Amazon SNS) topic. Subscribe the SysOps team email address to the SNS topic.

   Show answer

   Answer: B

   Explanation

   Answer is B You can create an Amazon CloudWatch alarm that monitors an Amazon EC2 instance and automatically recovers the instance if it becomes impaired due to an underlying hardware failure or a problem that requires AWS involvement to repair. Terminated instances cannot be recovered. A recovered instance is identical to the original instance, including the instance ID, private IP addresses, Elastic IP addresses, and all instance metadata. If the impaired instance has a public IPv4 address, the instance retains the public IPv4 address after recovery. If the impaired instance is in a placement group, the recovered instance runs in the placement group. When the StatusCheckFailed_System alarm is triggered, and the recover action is initiated, you will be notified by the Amazon SNS topic that you selected when you created the alarm and associated the recover action. https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/ec2-instance-recover.html

   Source: Adapted from community discussion — tyfta6

   References

   • AWS documentation
   • AWS documentation
   • AWS documentation

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8. Question 98 · 475 in bank

   A company has a public website that recently experienced problems. Some links led to missing webpages, and other links rendered incorrect webpages. The application infrastructure was running properly, and all the provisioned resources were healthy. Application logs and dashboards did not show any errors, and no monitoring alarms were raised. Systems administrators were not aware of any problems until end users reported the issues. The company needs to proactively monitor the website for such issues in the future and must implement a solution as soon as possible. Which solution will meet these requirements with the LEAST operational overhead?

   • ARewrite the application to surface a custom error to the application log when issues occur. Automatically parse logs for errors. Create an Amazon CloudWatch alarm to provide alerts when issues are detected.
   • BCreate an AWS Lambda function to test the website. Configure the Lambda function to emit an Amazon CloudWatch custom metric when errors are detected. Configure a CloudWatch alarm to provide alerts when issues are detected.
   • CCreate an Amazon CloudWatch Synthetics canary. Use the CloudWatch Synthetics Recorder plugin to generate the script for the canary run. Configure the canary in line with requirements. Create an alarm to provide alerts when issues are detected.
   • DIn the Amazon CloudWatch console, turn on Application Insights. Create a CloudWatch alarm to provide alerts when an issue is detected.

   Show answer

   Answer: C

   Explanation

   C is possible, correct me if Im wrong: Canaries are scripts written in Node.js or Python. They create Lambda functions in your account that use Node.js or Python as a framework. Canaries work over both HTTP and HTTPS protocols. which makes it possible for you to continually verify your customer experience even when you don't have any customer traffic on your applications. By using canaries, you can discover issues before your customers do. This is why B is good but as C is automation of what B says making it a better option

   Source: Adapted from community discussion — BugsBunny9998666

   References

   • AWS documentation

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9. Question 99 · 475 in bank

   A SysOps administrator is responsible for a company’s security groups. The company wants to maintain a documented trail of any changes that are made to the security groups. The SysOps administrator must receive notification whenever the security groups change. Which solution will meet these requirements?

   • ASet up Amazon Detective to record security group changes. Specify an Amazon CloudWatch Logs log group to store configuration history logs. Create an Amazon Simple Queue Service (Amazon SQS) queue for notifications about configuration changes. Subscribe the SysOps administrator’s email address to the SQS queue.
   • BSet up AWS Systems Manager Change Manager to record security group changes. Specify an Amazon CloudWatch Logs log group to store configuration history logs. Create an Amazon Simple Notification Service (Amazon SNS) topic for notifications about configuration changes. Subscribe the SysOps administrator’s email address to the SNS topic.
   • CSet up AWS Config to record security group changes. Specify an Amazon S3 bucket as the location for configuration snapshots and history files. Create an Amazon Simple Notification Service (Amazon SNS) topic for notifications about configuration changes. Subscribe the SysOps administrator’s email address to the SNS topic.
   • DSet up Amazon Detective to record security group changes. Specify an Amazon S3 bucket as the location for configuration snapshots and history files. Create an Amazon Simple Notification Service (Amazon SNS) topic for notifications about configuration changes. Subscribe the SysOps administrator’s email address to the SNS topic.

   Show answer

   Answer: C

   Explanation

   AWS Config, a fully managed service that provides you with an AWS resource inventory, configuration history, and configuration change notifications to help enable security and governance. You can create AWS Config rules that automatically check the configuration of AWS resources that are recorded by AWS Config. For this example, I use a Config rule that is invoked whenever a change is made to a security group. Attach the Config rule to an AWS Lambda function that examines the ingress rules of a security group to see if the group remains in compliance with the rules.

   Source: Adapted from community discussion — Christina666

   References

   • AWS documentation

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10. Question 100 · 475 in bank

    An ecommerce company has built a web application that uses an Amazon Aurora DB cluster. The DB cluster includes memory optimized instance types with both a writer node and a reader node. Traffic volume changes throughout the day. During sudden traffic surges, Amazon CloudWatch metrics for the DB cluster indicate high RAM consumption and an increase in select latency. A SysOps administrator must implement a configuration change to improve the performance of the DB cluster. The change must minimize downtime and must not result in the loss of data. Which change will meet these requirements?

    • AAdd an Aurora Replica to the DB cluster.
    • BModify the DB cluster to convert the DB cluster into a multi-master DB cluster.
    • CTake a snapshot of the DB cluster. From that snapshot, create a new DB cluster that has larger memory optimized instances.
    • DIncrease the disk storage capacity of the DB cluster to double the existing disk capacity.

    Show answer

    Answer: A

    Explanation

    A. Add an Aurora Replica to the DB cluster. To improve the performance of the Amazon Aurora DB cluster with minimal downtime and no data loss, adding an Aurora Replica is a suitable option. Here's why: Adding an Aurora Replica (Read Replica): This helps offload read traffic from the primary (writer) node to the replica (reader) node. It allows the read workload to be distributed and can improve overall performance. Minimal Downtime: Adding a read replica is a non-disruptive operation and can be performed with minimal downtime. It involves creating a read replica from the existing primary instance. No Data Loss: Creating a read replica does not result in data loss. The replica is initially synchronized with the primary instance and continues to replicate changes as they occur. -- Options B, C, and D involve more significant changes or potential downtime:

    Source: Adapted from community discussion — r2c3po

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Keyboard:J Kmove between questionsA–Dselect an answerRshow or hide the answer← →change page

SOA-C02 practice, question 91. 475 questions available.