AWS DevOps Engineer Professional Practice Test

Which AWS tool helps in running automated tests after deploying a CloudFormation stack?

1. Lambda functions

2. Amazon SNS

3. AWS Step Functions

4. AWS CodePipeline

The correct answer is: Amazon SNS

The correct answer is AWS CodePipeline, as it is specifically designed to automate the build, test, and deployment phases of your release process. After deploying a CloudFormation stack, CodePipeline can initiate a series of automated tests to ensure that the deployment was successful and that the application behaves as expected. The integration with other AWS services allows it to manage the entire workflow effectively, including running tests at various stages of the development lifecycle. AWS CodePipeline offers the flexibility to include the testing phase as part of the pipeline by integrating with tools like AWS CodeBuild, which can run the tests in a defined environment. This means that each time a stack is deployed using CloudFormation, relevant tests can automatically be carried out to validate the changes, thereby streamlining the DevOps pipeline. Other options such as Lambda functions and Amazon SNS do have their use cases but are not tailored for managing CI/CD workflows as comprehensively as CodePipeline. For example, Lambda can execute automated tasks or run tests but would require additional setup to integrate into a CI/CD pipeline effectively. Amazon SNS is primarily used for messaging and notifications, not for managing or automating testing processes within a pipeline. AWS Step Functions is more suited for orchestrating complex workflows rather than specifically handling testing processes after deployment.