DEA-C01 Data Operations and Support Practice Question
A data engineer needs to set up a disaster recovery solution for an Amazon RDS for MySQL database. The database must be available in another AWS Region with minimal data loss. What is the simplest approach?
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 a cross-Region read replica of the database.
Cross-Region read replica. Amazon RDS for MySQL supports cross-Region read replicas, which provide asynchronous replication to another Region. In a disaster, you can promote the read replica to a standalone primary database, minimizing data loss (typically seconds). Option A is wrong because Multi-AZ is within a single Region and does not provide cross-Region protection. Option B is wrong because AWS DMS is a separate service that requires ongoing management and cost; it is not the simplest approach. Option C is wrong because manual snapshots copied daily have a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of up to 24 hours, resulting in significant data loss.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Enable Multi-AZ deployment in the same Region.
Why it's wrong here
Multi-AZ provides high availability within a region, not disaster recovery across regions.
- ✗
Set up AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) for continuous replication.
Why it's wrong here
Using AWS DMS for continuous replication introduces additional architectural overhead and management tasks compared to native RDS features. This approach is intended for migrating data between different database engines or heterogeneous environments where built-in replication does not exist. It becomes the correct choice when you must move data from an on-premises server to Amazon RDS, rather than managing a native cross-region replica for disaster recovery.
- ✗
Take a manual snapshot and copy it to the other Region daily.
Why it's wrong here
Daily snapshots have up to 24 hours of potential data loss.
- ✓
Create a cross-Region read replica of the database.
Why this is correct
A read replica can be promoted to a standalone DB in a disaster, with minimal data loss.
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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.