SOA-C02 Question 17
Single answerA company has an Amazon EC2 instance running a critical application. The SysOps Administrator needs to ensure that the instance is monitored for high CPU usage and that an alarm is triggered if CPU utilization exceeds 80% for a duration of 5 consecutive minutes. What is the most appropriate way to configure this CloudWatch alarm?
- A
Create a CloudWatch alarm with the 'CPUUtilization' metric, set the threshold to 80%, and configure the evaluation period to 5 consecutive periods of 1 minute each.
- B
Create a CloudWatch alarm with the 'CPUUtilization' metric, set the threshold to 80%, and configure the evaluation period to a single period of 5 minutes.
- C
Create a CloudWatch alarm with the 'CPUUtilization' metric, set the threshold to 80%, and configure the evaluation period to 5 consecutive periods of 5 minutes each.
- D
Create a CloudWatch alarm with the 'CPUUtilization' metric, set the threshold to 80%, and configure the evaluation period to 1 consecutive period of 1 minute.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
To monitor high CPU usage and trigger an alarm when CPU utilization exceeds 80% for 5 consecutive minutes, you need to create a CloudWatch alarm using the 'CPUUtilization' metric. The evaluation period should be set to 5 consecutive periods of 1 minute each, ensuring the alarm evaluates conditions on a per-minute basis for a total of 5 minutes. This configuration aligns with the requirement of monitoring sustained high utilization over the specified duration.
- A. Correct.
This is the correct option. Setting the evaluation period to 5 consecutive periods of 1 minute each ensures that the alarm triggers if the CPU utilization exceeds 80% for 5 consecutive minutes.
- B. Incorrect.
This option is incorrect because using a single period of 5 minutes would not properly evaluate consecutive minute-by-minute thresholds, which could result in missed utilization spikes.
- C. Incorrect.
This option is incorrect because using 5 consecutive periods of 5 minutes each would require the condition to persist for 25 minutes, which does not match the 5-minute requirement.
- D. Incorrect.
This option is incorrect because setting the evaluation period to 1 consecutive period of 1 minute would not check for 5 consecutive minutes of CPU utilization exceeding 80%.