AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C02) — Question 170

A company operates a website on Amazon EC2 Linux instances. Some of the instances are failing. Troubleshooting points to insufficient swap space on the failed instances. The operations team lead needs a solution to monitor this.
What should a solutions architect recommend?

Answer options

• A. Configure an Amazon CloudWatch SwapUsage metric dimension. Monitor the SwapUsage dimension in the EC2 metrics in CloudWatch.
• B. Use EC2 metadata to collect information, then publish it to Amazon CloudWatch custom metrics. Monitor SwapUsage metrics in CloudWatch.
• C. Install an Amazon CloudWatch agent on the instances. Run an appropriate script on a set schedule. Monitor SwapUtilization metrics in CloudWatch.
• D. Enable detailed monitoring in the EC2 console. Create an Amazon CloudWatch SwapUtilization custom metric. Monitor SwapUtilization metrics in CloudWatch.

Correct answer: C

Explanation

The correct answer is C because installing the Amazon CloudWatch agent allows for more detailed monitoring of system metrics, including SwapUtilization. This option not only provides better visibility into the swap space usage but also enables scheduling for regular data collection. The other options either do not provide comprehensive monitoring or rely on methods that are less efficient for tracking swap metrics.