DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
A healthcare company uses Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL to store patient records. The database has a size of 1 TB and is running on a db.r5.large instance. The company requires that the database be highly available and have automated backups with point-in-time recovery (PITR) for the last 35 days. The operations team has configured Multi-AZ deployment and automated backups with a 35-day retention period. During a recent disaster simulation, the team attempted to restore the database to a point in time from 30 days ago. The restore operation failed because the backup was not available. On investigation, the team found that the automated backups were being deleted before the retention period ended. The team also noticed that the database has a large number of transaction logs generating a high volume of write activity. What is the most likely cause of the backups being deleted prematurely?
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
✓
The RDS instance was deleted, which automatically deletes all automated backups.
When an RDS instance is deleted, all automated backups associated with that instance are automatically deleted, regardless of the configured retention period. In this scenario, the instance was not explicitly described as deleted, but the deletion of automated backups before the retention period ends is a classic symptom of instance deletion. Option B is incorrect because a conflicting backup window does not cause backups to be deleted; it only affects when backups are taken. Option C is incorrect because Multi-AZ deployment does not affect backup retention; backups are still retained according to the retention period even if Multi-AZ is not enabled. Option D is incorrect because manual snapshots are independent of automated backups; deleting manual snapshots does not affect automated backup retention.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
The RDS instance was deleted, which automatically deletes all automated backups.
Why this is correct
When an RDS instance is deleted, automated backups are also deleted unless a final snapshot is taken.
- ✗
The automated backup window was set to a time that conflicted with the database maintenance window.
Why it's wrong here
Backup window conflicts do not cause early deletion.
- ✗
The Multi-AZ deployment was not enabled during the backup process, causing backups to fail.
Why it's wrong here
Multi-AZ ensures backups are taken from the standby, but retention is still 35 days.
- ✗
The database had manual snapshots that were deleted manually by the operations team.
Why it's wrong here
Manual snapshots are independent of automated backups.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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