DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
A data engineering team is migrating a MySQL database to Amazon RDS for MySQL. They need to ensure high availability and automated failover. Which THREE configurations should they implement?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse read replicas (which are for read scaling and manual promotion) with Multi-AZ standby instances (which provide automatic failover), leading them to incorrectly select a cross-region read replica as a high-availability solution.
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
✓
Enable automated backups with a retention period.
Automated backups with a retention period enable point-in-time recovery (PITR) and are required for Multi-AZ failover to function properly. RDS uses automated backups to keep the standby instance synchronized and to support recovery after a failover event.
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 Enhanced Monitoring.
Why it's wrong here
Enhanced Monitoring provides metrics, not availability.
- ✓
Enable automated backups with a retention period.
Why this is correct
Automated backups enable recovery to any point within retention.
- ✓
Enable Multi-AZ deployment.
Why this is correct
Multi-AZ provides automatic failover to a standby in a different AZ.
- ✓
Configure a DB subnet group with subnets in at least two Availability Zones.
Why this is correct
Required for Multi-AZ deployment.
- ✗
Create a read replica in a different region.
Why it's wrong here
Read replicas do not provide automatic failover.
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Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on DEA-C01
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A data engineer needs to set up a new Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL database for a production workload. The database must be highly available and resilient to a single Availability Zone failure. Which configuration should the engineer choose?
hard- A.Single-AZ with automated backups
- ✓ B.Multi-AZ deployment with one standby in a different AZ
- C.Multi-AZ with two readable standbys
- D.Single-AZ with a read replica
Why B: A Multi-AZ deployment for Amazon RDS PostgreSQL automatically provisions and maintains a synchronous standby replica in a different Availability Zone. This configuration provides automatic failover in the event of an AZ failure, ensuring high availability and resilience without manual intervention. The synchronous replication ensures zero data loss during failover, which is critical for production workloads.
JA
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.