DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
A company is migrating an on-premises MySQL database to Amazon RDS for MySQL. The database is 500 GB in size. The migration must have minimal downtime and must be completed within a week. Which AWS service should the data engineer use to perform the migration?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse AWS DataSync (a file-transfer service) with database migration, or assume Snowball Edge is required for any migration over a few hundred gigabytes, when in fact DMS with CDC is the appropriate service for minimizing downtime in database migrations even with moderate data sizes.
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 is specifically designed for migrating databases to AWS with minimal downtime. DMS can perform a full load of the 500 GB MySQL database and then continuously replicate ongoing changes from the on-premises source to the Amazon RDS target using change data capture (CDC), allowing the migration to complete within a week with near-zero downtime.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Amazon S3 Transfer Acceleration.
Why it's wrong here
Transfer Acceleration speeds uploads to S3 buckets over long distances; it cannot replicate a live MySQL database into RDS. It is tempting for bulk data movement, and would fit uploading large files to S3, not database migration with minimal downtime.
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AWS Snowball Edge.
Why it's wrong here
Snowball Edge suits offline bulk transfer where network bandwidth is inadequate, but it cannot replicate an ongoing MySQL workload with minimal downtime. It is tempting for 500 GB volumes, and would be correct for one-time transfers to S3 without continuous cutover requirements.
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AWS DataSync.
Why it's wrong here
DataSync copies files and objects between storage systems; it does not perform MySQL schema conversion or continuous replication into RDS. It is tempting for moving large datasets, and would be correct for migrating on-premises file shares to Amazon S3 or EFS.
- ✓
AWS Database Migration Service (DMS).
Why this is correct
AWS DMS performs continuous replication from the on-premises MySQL source to RDS for MySQL, keeping the target current until cutover. This satisfies the minimal-downtime constraint while completing the 500 GB migration well within a week.
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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.