Alarm actions (SNS, Auto Scaling) in AWS - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What is an alarm action in AWS CloudWatch?

An alarm action is what happens when a CloudWatch alarm changes state. It can send notifications or trigger other AWS services like Auto Scaling.

beginner

How does SNS work with CloudWatch alarms?

SNS (Simple Notification Service) sends messages to subscribers like email or SMS when a CloudWatch alarm triggers.

intermediate

What happens when a CloudWatch alarm triggers an Auto Scaling action?

The Auto Scaling group adjusts the number of instances, either adding or removing them based on the alarm's condition.

intermediate

Can a CloudWatch alarm have multiple actions?

Yes, an alarm can trigger multiple actions like sending SNS notifications and scaling Auto Scaling groups at the same time.

beginner

Why use Auto Scaling with CloudWatch alarms?

It helps keep your application healthy and cost-efficient by automatically adjusting resources based on real-time metrics.

What does SNS do when triggered by a CloudWatch alarm?

A Sends notifications to subscribers

B Deletes EC2 instances

C Creates new CloudWatch metrics

D Stops Auto Scaling groups

SNS sends notifications like emails or SMS to subscribers when a CloudWatch alarm triggers.

Which AWS service can automatically add or remove instances based on CloudWatch alarms?

A Lambda

B SNS

C Auto Scaling

D S3

Auto Scaling adjusts the number of instances automatically based on CloudWatch alarm triggers.

Can a CloudWatch alarm trigger both SNS notifications and Auto Scaling actions simultaneously?

A Only if using Lambda

B No

C Only one action per alarm

D Yes

CloudWatch alarms can trigger multiple actions including SNS notifications and Auto Scaling.

What is the main benefit of linking CloudWatch alarms to Auto Scaling?

A Manual instance management

B Automatic resource adjustment

C Faster SNS notifications

D Creating new alarms

Linking alarms to Auto Scaling allows automatic adjustment of resources based on metrics.

Which of these is NOT a valid CloudWatch alarm action?

A Directly modify S3 bucket policies

B Trigger Auto Scaling

C Send SNS notification

D Invoke Lambda function

CloudWatch alarms do not directly modify S3 bucket policies as an action.

Explain how CloudWatch alarms can help manage Auto Scaling groups.

Think about monitoring, triggering, and adjusting resources automatically.

Describe the role of SNS in alarm actions and why it is useful.

Consider how alerts reach users or other systems.