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SOA-C02 · Question #604

SOA-C02 Question #604: Real Exam Question with Answer & Explanation

The correct answer is D: Use AWS Systems Manager Patch Manager default patch baselines to keep all the instances. AWS Systems Manager Patch Manager is the purpose-built AWS-native solution for automating OS and software patching across fleets of EC2 instances - it uses default patch baselines, patch groups, and maintenance windows to handle patching at scale with zero manual intervention, de

Submitted by carter_n· Mar 30, 2026Deployment, Provisioning, and Automation

Question

A company is migrating many on-premises servers to Amazon EC2 instances. The company currently maintains the operating systems and the installed software manually. A SysOps administrator must recommend a solution to automate upgrades to the software and systems on the instances. Which solution will meet this requirement with the MOST operational efficiency?

Options

  • AInstall third-party patch management software on an instance. Give the instance SSH access to
  • BUse EC2 Instance Connect and SSH to connect to each instance. Configure a cron job to run
  • CUse AWS Systems Manager Session Manager to log in to each instance. Configure a cron job to
  • DUse AWS Systems Manager Patch Manager default patch baselines to keep all the instances

Explanation

AWS Systems Manager Patch Manager is the purpose-built AWS-native solution for automating OS and software patching across fleets of EC2 instances - it uses default patch baselines, patch groups, and maintenance windows to handle patching at scale with zero manual intervention, delivering maximum operational efficiency.

Why the distractors fail:

  • A requires installing and maintaining third-party software on a dedicated instance plus managing SSH access - more operational overhead, not less.
  • B requires manually SSHing into each instance to set up cron jobs - this doesn't scale and is error-prone across many servers.
  • C replaces SSH with Session Manager (an improvement in access security) but still requires logging into each instance individually to configure cron jobs - same scalability problem as B.

All three distractors share the same flaw: they require per-instance manual work, which defeats the goal of automation at scale.

Memory tip: When an AWS question asks about patching/upgrading EC2 instances with least operational overhead, map it to SSM Patch Manager - it's the "set it and forget it" AWS-native answer. The keyword chain is: fleet patching → Systems Manager → Patch Manager → patch baselines.

Topics

#AWS Systems Manager#Patch Management#EC2 Automation#Operational Efficiency

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