Key details for this exam, checked against the published exam outline
Each question shows the correct answer and an explanation of why it is right
(What is the advantage of maximizing the time to live of the cache in CloudFront?)
Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:
Maximizing the time to live (TTL) of the cache in Amazon CloudFront reduces the frequency of requests to the origin server by serving content from edge locations for a longer period, lowering latency and costs. The WGU Cloud Deployment and Operations Study Guide (Section 4.4, CloudFront Caching) states, 'A higher TTL in CloudFront caching minimizes origin requests by keeping objects in edge caches longer, reducing load on the origin server and optimizing performance and cost.' Facilitating high request volumes, improving disaster recovery, and enhancing security are not primary benefits of maximizing TTL.
(A company has deployed an application to AWS and a standby instance to its on-premises data center. The on-premises infrastructure is a scaled-down version of the AWS infrastructure. Which routing policy in Route 53 will allow the company to send 75% of the load to AWS and the remaining 25% to its on-premises infrastructure?)
The weighted routing policy in Amazon Route 53 allows the company to distribute traffic with specific percentages, such as 75% to AWS and 25% to the on-premises infrastructure, by assigning weights to each resource record. This enables load balancing across hybrid environments. The WGU Cloud Deployment and Operations Study Guide (Section 3.1, Route 53 Routing Policies) states, 'Weighted routing policy assigns weights to resource record sets (e.g., 75 for AWS, 25 for on-premises), controlling the percentage of traffic directed to each endpoint.' Geolocation, failover, and simple policies do not support percentage-based traffic splitting.
(A company is using the CloudWatch agent on its EC2 Linux instances. The company needs to determine how long read requests have waited on the instance's I/O for proper sizing of the instance. Which metric should the company use?)
The `disk_io_time` metric, collected by the CloudWatch agent on EC2 Linux instances, measures the total time (in milliseconds) that read and write requests have waited on I/O, helping to assess disk performance for instance sizing. The WGU Cloud Deployment and Operations Study Guide (Section 4.1, CloudWatch Agent Metrics) states, 'The `disk_io_time` metric, available via the CloudWatch agent, tracks the time spent waiting for I/O operations, providing insight into disk contention for optimizing EC2 instance sizing.' disk_read_ops, diskio_reads, and diskio_read_bytes measure operation counts or bytes, not wait times.
(A company has implemented multifactor authentication (MFA) for access to its AWS tenant. Which API call is needed to perform MFA before accessing a resource?)
The `GetSessionToken` API call is needed to perform MFA before accessing a resource, as it generates temporary security credentials for an IAM user after MFA validation. This ensures secure access to AWS resources. The WGU Cloud Deployment and Operations Study Guide (Section 6.2, IAM and MFA) states, 'The `GetSessionToken` API is used with MFA to obtain temporary credentials, requiring a valid MFA code to authenticate the user before resource access is granted.' GetCallerIdentity, GetFederationToken, and DecodeAuthorizationMessage serve different purposes and do not handle MFA authentication.
(Which two retention periods are supported by Performance Insights? Choose 2 answers.)
Amazon RDS Performance Insights supports retention periods of 7 days and 1 year for storing performance data, depending on the configuration and edition. The default retention is 7 days for standard monitoring, while enabling enhanced monitoring or the Performance Insights extended retention feature allows data to be retained for up to 1 year. The WGU Cloud Deployment and Operations Study Guide (Section 7.2, Performance Insights) states, 'Performance Insights offers a 7-day retention period by default, with an option to extend to 1 year for detailed historical analysis, supporting cost and performance optimization.' Options A (1 day) and D (2 years) are not supported retention periods.
(Which service should be used to schedule the patching of EC2 instances and on-premises servers with security updates?)
AWS Systems Manager should be used to schedule the patching of EC2 instances and on-premises servers with security updates, utilizing features like Patch Manager and maintenance windows. This service supports hybrid environments and automated patch deployment. The WGU Cloud Deployment and Operations Study Guide (Section 5.2, Systems Manager Patch Manager) states, 'Systems Manager provides Patch Manager to schedule and deploy security updates to EC2 instances and on-premises servers during maintenance windows, ensuring consistent patching across hybrid environments.' EventBridge, Config, and App Runner do not offer this patching capability.
(Which two languages are used by CloudFormation to define infrastructure? Choose 2 answers.)
Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:
AWS CloudFormation uses YAML and JSON languages to define infrastructure as code (IaC) templates, specifying resources, parameters, and configurations. These formats are human-readable and support the creation of stacks for provisioning AWS resources. The WGU Cloud Deployment and Operations Study Guide (Section 5.3, CloudFormation) states, 'CloudFormation templates can be written in YAML or JSON, both of which are supported for defining infrastructure resources like EC2 instances and S3 buckets.' XML and C# are not supported languages for CloudFormation templates.
Exam domains verified against: Official WGU Cloud-Deployment-and-Operations exam guide, last checked October 2026.
Deploy and manage cloud services while ensuring system stability. Understand scalability requirements, backup strategies, and recovery workflows to maintain reliable cloud environments. Handle provisioning, monitoring, and connectivity tasks essential for supporting production cloud operations.
Use automation tools to streamline cloud resource creation and management throughout their lifecycle. Apply automation methods to provisioning processes and routine maintenance tasks to keep cloud operations efficient and reduce manual overhead.
Establish and manage network connectivity within AWS environments. Configure, troubleshoot, and resolve connectivity issues to ensure reliable communication between cloud systems and services.
Sample question from this domain above: Q2
Identify the effective balance between cost and performance in AWS service selection. Choose appropriate resources and configurations that support efficient operations without unnecessary expenses.
Sample question from this domain above: Q1
Apply AWS security services to protect workloads and infrastructure. Demonstrate understanding of compliance requirements and implement security controls that meet organizational and industry standards.
Sample question from this domain above: Q4
Apply AWS capabilities for scalability and elasticity to handle varying workloads. Implement robust backup strategies to maintain service continuity and protect critical data for recovery purposes.
Use AWS monitoring and logging services to detect operational issues. Analyze system outputs, identify problems, and implement corrective actions to maintain smooth cloud operations.
Common questions about the exam itself
