This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data store management. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A data engineer is migrating an on-premises Oracle database to Amazon RDS for Oracle. The database is 5 TB in size and has a 1 Gbps network connection. The migration must be completed within 48 hours. Which service should be used?
AWS DataSync.
Why wrong: Designed for file data, not databases.
Amazon S3 Transfer Acceleration.
Why wrong: Used for faster uploads to S3, not direct migration to RDS.
AWS Snowball Edge.
Why wrong: Offline transfer adds shipping time, likely exceeding 48 hours.
AWS Database Migration Service (DMS).
Online migration over network, capable of migrating 5 TB within 48 hours.
Answer choices
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 DMS is the correct choice because it is designed for migrating databases to AWS with minimal downtime, and it can handle a 5 TB Oracle database over a 1 Gbps network within 48 hours. DMS supports ongoing replication to keep the source and target in sync, and it can use Oracle-specific features like supplemental logging and change data capture (CDC) to reduce migration time. The 1 Gbps connection provides sufficient bandwidth to transfer 5 TB in under 12 hours at full utilization, leaving ample time for setup and validation.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
AWS DataSync.
Why it's wrong here
Designed for file data, not databases.
Amazon S3 Transfer Acceleration.
Why it's wrong here
Used for faster uploads to S3, not direct migration to RDS.
AWS Snowball Edge.
Why it's wrong here
Offline transfer adds shipping time, likely exceeding 48 hours.
AWS Database Migration Service (DMS).
Why this is correct
Online migration over network, capable of migrating 5 TB within 48 hours.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates might choose Snowball Edge (option C) thinking 5 TB is too large for a 1 Gbps connection within 48 hours, but they overlook that the bandwidth is sufficient (5 TB at 1 Gbps takes ~11 hours), making an online migration via DMS the correct and more practical choice.
Detailed technical explanation
AWS DMS uses a replication instance that reads the source Oracle database's redo logs via LogMiner or Oracle GoldenGate (for CDC) to capture changes without locking tables, enabling near-zero downtime migrations. The 5 TB size over 1 Gbps yields a theoretical transfer time of about 11 hours (5 TB * 8 bits/byte / 1 Gbps / 3600 seconds/hour), but in practice, DMS adds overhead for schema conversion, LOB handling, and network latency, so the 48-hour window is realistic. A common real-world scenario is migrating a production Oracle database with active transactions, where DMS's continuous replication ensures data consistency without a long outage window.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
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FAQ
Data Store Management — This question tests Data Store Management — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: AWS Database Migration Service (DMS). — AWS DMS is the correct choice because it is designed for migrating databases to AWS with minimal downtime, and it can handle a 5 TB Oracle database over a 1 Gbps network within 48 hours. DMS supports ongoing replication to keep the source and target in sync, and it can use Oracle-specific features like supplemental logging and change data capture (CDC) to reduce migration time. The 1 Gbps connection provides sufficient bandwidth to transfer 5 TB in under 12 hours at full utilization, leaving ample time for setup and validation.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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.
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