Q56 — AWS DVA-C02 Ch.2

Question 56 of 100 | ← Chapter 2

A developer is integrating AWS X-Ray into an application that processes personally identifiable information (PII). The application runs on Amazon EC2 instances. Application trace messages, including encrypted API calls, are sent to Amazon CloudWatch. The developer must ensure API calls do not leave the EC2 instance boundary. Which solution satisfies these requirements?

• A. Manually instrument the X-Ray SDK in the application code.
• B. Use X-Ray automatic instrumentation. ✓
• C. Use Amazon Macie to detect and redact PII; invoke X-Ray APIs from AWS Lambda.
• D. Use AWS Distro for OpenTelemetry.

Correct Answer: B. Use X-Ray automatic instrumentation.

Explanation

X-Ray automatic instrumentation enables integration without extensive code changes and automatically traces application messages and API calls—including encrypted ones—while keeping all tracing activity within the EC2 instance boundary. It seamlessly forwards trace data to Amazon CloudWatch for analysis without exposing PII outside the instance. Manual instrumentation (Option A) increases development effort and error risk. Amazon Macie (Option C) focuses on PII discovery and classification—not X-Ray integration—and invoking X-Ray APIs from Lambda introduces external dependencies. AWS Distro for OpenTelemetry (Option D) is an alternative observability framework but does not natively satisfy the specific X-Ray integration and boundary constraints described. Thus, Option B (X-Ray automatic instrumentation) best fulfills the requirements.