AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Exam Answers
The AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate exam validates your expertise in managing, operating, and deploying applications on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) platform. This certification is perfect for professionals looking to advance their career as systems administrators with a specialization in AWS cloud services.
What You Will Learn
Taking the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator exam will provide you with a comprehensive understanding of various AWS services and how they are used to manage cloud infrastructures efficiently. Here’s a detailed look at what you’ll learn during your preparation:
Monitoring and Reporting
You will gain deep knowledge of how to monitor AWS resources, ensuring the reliability, scalability, and security of your infrastructure. You’ll understand how to set up CloudWatch alarms, manage logs, and integrate CloudWatch with other services for optimized performance.High Availability and Business Continuity
Learn how to design highly available and fault-tolerant architectures. This includes configuring auto-scaling, deploying instances across multiple availability zones, and ensuring that your AWS resources can withstand disruptions, ensuring business continuity.Deployment, Provisioning, and Automation
Discover best practices for automating the deployment of applications and systems in the cloud. You’ll learn to work with AWS tools such as CloudFormation and Elastic Beanstalk to streamline the setup of complex systems.Security and Compliance
Gain expertise in AWS security best practices, including the use of Identity and Access Management (IAM) for user permissions, configuring network security groups, and applying encryption. Understand AWS compliance frameworks and the role of auditing and monitoring tools to meet organizational security standards.Cost and Performance Optimization
Learn to monitor and optimize AWS resource usage. You will get hands-on experience with cost management tools such as AWS Cost Explorer and the AWS Trusted Advisor to ensure cost-effective resource usage and optimal system performance.Incident and Change Management
Understand how to manage incidents and changes within your cloud environment effectively. This includes troubleshooting, tracking AWS service issues, and using best practices for change management with the AWS Config and CloudTrail services.
Who Should Take the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate Exam?
The AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate exam is tailored for professionals who are responsible for managing and operating systems on AWS. The following individuals should consider taking the exam:
System Administrators: Those who manage AWS-based systems, ensuring optimal performance, security, and uptime.
Cloud Engineers: Professionals tasked with deploying applications, systems, and services on AWS, while handling cloud infrastructure.
DevOps Engineers: Professionals working to integrate development and operations workflows within an AWS environment.
IT Professionals with AWS Experience: Those with hands-on experience in administering AWS systems who wish to validate their skills and progress their career in cloud operations.
AWS Solutions Architects: Architects who wish to deepen their knowledge of operational aspects and move into cloud operations.
Benefits of Getting AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate
Career Advancement: Certification helps you stand out as a skilled AWS SysOps administrator and improves your chances of landing jobs with top-tier organizations. Many employers seek AWS-certified professionals due to the high demand for cloud expertise.
Recognition and Credibility: Being AWS certified enhances your professional credibility. Employers, colleagues, and clients will recognize your expertise in managing and scaling applications on AWS.
Better Salary Potential: Cloud administrators are in high demand. Having this certification can lead to higher-paying roles in system administration, DevOps, and cloud infrastructure management.
Improved Skill Set: By preparing for and passing the exam, you’ll sharpen your cloud management, deployment, and security skills, making you a more effective and efficient AWS professional.
Increased Job Opportunities: AWS continues to dominate the cloud industry, and as more businesses move to the cloud, the need for skilled SysOps administrators grows. The certification opens up a wider range of job opportunities in companies globally.
Exam Overview
Duration: 130 minutes
Cost: $150 USD
Format: Multiple-choice and multiple-answer questions
Recommended Experience: At least one year of experience in deploying, managing, and operating AWS environments.
The AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate exam is an essential certification for anyone looking to solidify their role in cloud operations. With a deep focus on practical skills such as monitoring, high availability, cost optimization, and security, this exam provides the necessary expertise to effectively manage AWS systems. Whether you’re aiming for career progression or enhancing your skill set in the cloud, this certification will open new opportunities in the fast-growing field of cloud computing.
Sample Questions and Answers
✅ Domain: Monitoring, Reporting, and Automation
Which AWS service enables you to collect, view, and analyze logs from AWS resources and applications?
A. AWS CloudTrail
B. AWS X-Ray
C. Amazon CloudWatch Logs
D. AWS Config
Correct Answer: C. Amazon CloudWatch Logs
Explanation: CloudWatch Logs allows you to monitor, store, and access log files from EC2, Lambda, and other AWS services.
A SysOps Admin wants to monitor the CPU utilization of an EC2 instance. Which type of CloudWatch metric should be used?
A. Custom Metric
B. Detailed Metric
C. Standard Metric
D. Basic Metric
Correct Answer: D. Basic Metric
Explanation: EC2 instances send basic metrics like CPU utilization to CloudWatch at 5-minute intervals by default.
Which CloudWatch feature can automatically change the state of AWS resources based on defined thresholds?
A. CloudWatch Logs
B. CloudWatch Metrics
C. CloudWatch Alarms
D. CloudWatch Dashboards
Correct Answer: C. CloudWatch Alarms
Explanation: Alarms allow actions such as auto-scaling or sending notifications when a metric breaches a threshold.
✅ Domain: High Availability and Business Continuity
How can a SysOps Administrator improve the availability of a web application hosted in a single AWS Region?
A. Use Elastic Beanstalk
B. Use Auto Scaling in one Availability Zone
C. Deploy instances across multiple Availability Zones
D. Enable EC2 detailed monitoring
Correct Answer: C. Deploy instances across multiple Availability Zones
Explanation: Distributing instances across AZs ensures higher availability and fault tolerance.
Which AWS service allows automatic recovery of an EC2 instance if it becomes impaired?
A. AWS Auto Scaling
B. Elastic Load Balancer
C. CloudWatch Alarm with EC2 recovery action
D. Amazon Inspector
Correct Answer: C. CloudWatch Alarm with EC2 recovery action
Explanation: CloudWatch alarms can be configured to trigger instance recovery on specific health issues.
✅ Domain: Deployment, Provisioning, and Automation
A SysOps Admin wants to automate the deployment of infrastructure using code. Which tool should they use?
A. AWS CodePipeline
B. AWS CloudFormation
C. AWS Config
D. AWS OpsWorks
Correct Answer: B. AWS CloudFormation
Explanation: CloudFormation enables the definition of infrastructure as code using YAML or JSON templates.
Which AWS service lets you define and enforce configurations using Chef or Puppet?
A. AWS CloudFormation
B. AWS OpsWorks
C. AWS Systems Manager
D. AWS Lambda
Correct Answer: B. AWS OpsWorks
Explanation: OpsWorks is a configuration management service that supports Chef and Puppet automation tools.
What AWS service can a SysOps Admin use to run commands remotely on multiple EC2 instances?
A. AWS CLI
B. AWS Systems Manager Run Command
C. Amazon Inspector
D. CloudFormation Stack
Correct Answer: B. AWS Systems Manager Run Command
Explanation: Run Command enables administrators to remotely manage and automate tasks across EC2 instances.
✅ Domain: Security and Compliance
Which service helps a SysOps Admin monitor AWS account activity?
A. Amazon CloudWatch
B. AWS Config
C. AWS CloudTrail
D. AWS IAM
Correct Answer: C. AWS CloudTrail
Explanation: CloudTrail logs API calls and activities, providing auditing and compliance capabilities.
How can an admin enforce the use of encryption on an S3 bucket?
A. Enable versioning
B. Enable MFA Delete
C. Set a bucket policy requiring encryption
D. Use Glacier lifecycle rule
Correct Answer: C. Set a bucket policy requiring encryption
Explanation: You can create a bucket policy that denies uploads unless encryption headers are present.
✅ Domain: Networking and Content Delivery
Which service automatically distributes traffic across multiple EC2 instances?
A. CloudFront
B. AWS Route 53
C. AWS Load Balancer
D. AWS VPN
Correct Answer: C. AWS Load Balancer
Explanation: Load balancers manage traffic distribution and increase fault tolerance.
What is the primary purpose of Amazon Route 53?
A. CDN
B. Database hosting
C. Domain registration and DNS routing
D. VPC peering
Correct Answer: C. Domain registration and DNS routing
Explanation: Route 53 provides DNS services and health checks to route traffic intelligently.
✅ Domain: Cost and Performance Optimization
Which tool helps in recommending reserved instance purchases?
A. AWS Cost Explorer
B. AWS Trusted Advisor
C. AWS Budgets
D. AWS CloudWatch
Correct Answer: B. AWS Trusted Advisor
Explanation: Trusted Advisor gives recommendations for RI purchases to optimize cost.
A SysOps Admin wants to be alerted when spending exceeds $100 for the month. What should they use?
A. CloudTrail
B. AWS Budgets
C. Cost Explorer
D. Trusted Advisor
Correct Answer: B. AWS Budgets
Explanation: AWS Budgets can trigger alerts based on forecasted or actual spending.
Which EC2 instance pricing option is best for steady workloads?
A. Spot Instances
B. On-Demand
C. Dedicated Hosts
D. Reserved Instances
Correct Answer: D. Reserved Instances
Explanation: Reserved Instances offer cost savings over On-Demand pricing for long-term, steady usage.
✅ Domain: Storage and Data Management
What is the default consistency model for Amazon S3?
A. Eventual consistency
B. Strong consistency
C. Read-after-write consistency
D. Write-after-read consistency
Correct Answer: B. Strong consistency
Explanation: S3 now provides strong read-after-write consistency for all objects.
Which AWS service is best suited for storing infrequently accessed backups?
A. Amazon S3 Standard
B. Amazon EBS
C. Amazon S3 Glacier
D. AWS Storage Gateway
Correct Answer: C. Amazon S3 Glacier
Explanation: Glacier is designed for archival storage at low cost.
What happens when an EBS volume is detached without being unmounted?
A. The volume is deleted
B. The data is corrupted
C. Nothing happens
D. The volume becomes read-only
Correct Answer: B. The data is corrupted
Explanation: Detaching an EBS volume without unmounting can lead to data corruption.
✅ Domain: Troubleshooting
A new EC2 instance is unreachable via SSH. What’s the first step to troubleshoot?
A. Restart the instance
B. Check the key pair
C. Check the security group rules
D. Recreate the instance
Correct Answer: C. Check the security group rules
Explanation: Ensure that port 22 is allowed in inbound rules from your IP.
CloudWatch shows that an instance is underutilized. What should the SysOps Admin do?
A. Increase instance size
B. Convert to Reserved Instance
C. Stop the instance
D. Use a smaller instance type
Correct Answer: D. Use a smaller instance type
Explanation: Right-sizing helps save cost and improve resource efficiency.
✅ More Scenario-Based Questions
A user has deleted an EC2 instance accidentally. How can the SysOps Admin recover it?
A. Use CloudTrail to restore
B. Restore from AMI or snapshot
C. Use EC2 Auto Recovery
D. Reboot EC2 instance
Correct Answer: B. Restore from AMI or snapshot
Explanation: EC2 instances must be recreated from AMIs or EBS snapshots if deleted.
A company wants to prevent users from deleting critical S3 objects. What should be done?
A. Enable S3 versioning
B. Enable MFA delete
C. Apply S3 lifecycle policy
D. Use KMS encryption
Correct Answer: B. Enable MFA delete
Explanation: MFA Delete provides an extra layer of protection against accidental or malicious deletion.
What service helps visualize AWS cost and usage data?
A. AWS Billing Console
B. AWS Budgets
C. AWS Trusted Advisor
D. AWS Cost Explorer
Correct Answer: D. AWS Cost Explorer
Explanation: Cost Explorer provides detailed visualizations for cost trends.
What AWS service provides a secure and scalable DNS service?
A. Route 53
B. VPC Peering
C. CloudFront
D. NAT Gateway
Correct Answer: A. Route 53
Explanation: Route 53 is AWS’s DNS and routing service.
What is the benefit of Multi-AZ RDS deployments?
A. Faster read operations
B. Backup automation
C. High availability and failover support
D. Encryption at rest
Correct Answer: C. High availability and failover support
Explanation: Multi-AZ deployments provide standby replication and automatic failover.
How can a SysOps Admin automate snapshot creation?
A. Use AWS Backup
B. Use Amazon Macie
C. Use AWS Systems Manager State Manager
D. Use Lambda with CloudWatch Events
Correct Answer: A. Use AWS Backup
Explanation: AWS Backup simplifies and centralizes backup automation.
How can access be restricted to a specific IP range for an S3 bucket?
A. IAM Role
B. S3 lifecycle policy
C. Bucket Policy with IP condition
D. AWS WAF
Correct Answer: C. Bucket Policy with IP condition
Explanation: You can add IP-based conditions to bucket policies to allow/deny access.
Which service would you use to analyze traffic patterns in a VPC?
A. VPC Peering
B. VPC Flow Logs
C. NAT Gateway
D. Route 53 Health Checks
Correct Answer: B. VPC Flow Logs
Explanation: VPC Flow Logs capture IP traffic to and from network interfaces.
An ELB is not distributing traffic evenly. What’s the likely cause?
A. Instance health checks failing
B. Session stickiness enabled
C. High CPU usage
D. Load balancer is in another AZ
Correct Answer: B. Session stickiness enabled
Explanation: Stickiness can cause uneven traffic by sending requests to the same instance.
Which tool can be used to schedule regular maintenance tasks on EC2?
A. AWS Backup
B. AWS CloudFormation
C. AWS Systems Manager Maintenance Windows
D. Amazon Inspector
Correct Answer: C. AWS Systems Manager Maintenance Windows
Explanation: Maintenance Windows allows you to define time windows for regular admin tasks.
