DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
A company is migrating an on-premises MongoDB database to Amazon DocumentDB. The migration must have minimal downtime. Which service should be used to perform the migration?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse AWS DMS with AWS DataSync or AWS Glue, assuming any 'migration' or 'data transfer' service can handle live database replication, but only DMS provides the necessary CDC engine for heterogeneous database migrations with minimal downtime.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
AWS Database Migration Service (DMS)
AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) is the correct choice because it supports continuous replication from MongoDB to Amazon DocumentDB using change data capture (CDC), enabling near-zero downtime migrations. DMS can perform a full load of existing data and then apply ongoing changes from the source MongoDB oplog, keeping the target DocumentDB synchronized until the cutover.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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AWS Glue
Why it's wrong here
AWS Glue is a serverless ETL service for transforming and cataloguing data, not a continuous database replication tool, so it cannot keep MongoDB and DocumentDB in sync for a minimal-downtime cutover. It would be correct for batch ETL jobs feeding analytics, not live database migration.
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AWS DataSync
Why it's wrong here
AWS DataSync moves files and objects between storage systems, not MongoDB documents into DocumentDB, so it cannot replicate change streams or perform a cutover. It is tempting because DataSync handles large-scale online data transfer, and it would be the right choice for migrating file shares or S3 buckets.
- ✓
AWS Database Migration Service (DMS)
Why this is correct
AWS Database Migration Service performs continuous change data capture replication from MongoDB to Amazon DocumentDB, keeping the target synchronised until cutover. This satisfies the minimal-downtime constraint, since the source stays live during the initial full load and ongoing replication, unlike offline dump-and-restore approaches that require stopping writes.
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Amazon S3 Transfer Acceleration
Why it's wrong here
Amazon S3 Transfer Acceleration speeds up uploads to S3 buckets via optimised network paths, but it cannot connect to or write data into a DocumentDB database, nor does it perform any schema conversion or continuous replication. It is tempting because its name suggests faster data movement, and it would be correct for rapidly transferring large files into an S3 bucket over long distances.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This DEA-C01 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the DEA-C01 exam.