DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
A company is running a MySQL database on Amazon RDS. The database size is 2 TB, and the company needs to migrate it to Amazon Aurora MySQL with minimal downtime. Which migration strategy is most appropriate?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers assume DMS is always the best for minimal downtime, but for MySQL-to-Aurora migrations, the native read-replica promotion is simpler, faster, and fully managed by AWS, making it the most appropriate choice for this specific scenario.
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
✓
Create an Aurora MySQL read replica from the RDS instance, then promote it.
Creating an Aurora MySQL read replica from the existing RDS MySQL instance allows the Aurora cluster to stay synchronized with the source using MySQL’s native binlog replication. Once the replica lag reaches zero, you can promote it to a standalone Aurora cluster with minimal downtime, typically just a few seconds to stop writes and redirect traffic. This approach avoids the lengthy export/import process and leverages Amazon’s managed replication for near-zero-downtime migration.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Create an Aurora MySQL read replica from the RDS instance, then promote it.
Why this is correct
This approach allows replication with minimal downtime, then promote to master.
- ✗
Use mysqldump to export the database and import it into Aurora.
Why it's wrong here
mysqldump is not efficient for a 2 TB database and would cause significant downtime.
- ✗
Take a snapshot of the RDS instance and restore it as an Aurora cluster.
Why it's wrong here
Restoring from snapshot requires downtime during the restore process.
- ✗
Use AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) with full load and ongoing replication.
Why it's wrong here
DMS works but may not be the most minimal downtime option compared to Aurora replication.
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