DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
A startup is building a mobile application that requires a database to store user profiles and preferences. The database must scale automatically with minimal administration. Which AWS service should they use?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to choose a relational database like Aurora or RDS because they assume user profiles require complex joins or ACID transactions, but DynamoDB's single-table design and conditional updates can handle most mobile app patterns with simpler, more scalable operations.
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
✓
Amazon DynamoDB
Amazon DynamoDB is a fully managed NoSQL key-value and document database that delivers single-digit millisecond performance at any scale. It supports automatic scaling of throughput capacity and storage with no downtime, making it ideal for a mobile application that requires minimal administrative overhead. The serverless, pay-per-request billing model aligns perfectly with the startup's need for automatic scaling and low operational burden.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Amazon Redshift
Why it's wrong here
Redshift is a columnar data warehouse for analytical aggregation over large datasets, not transactional profile storage. It requires cluster provisioning and tuning, so it neither scales automatically nor minimises administration for a mobile application's per-user reads and writes.
- ✗
Amazon Aurora
Why it's wrong here
Aurora provisions fixed instance classes and storage you must size, so it does not scale automatically without administration. It suits relational workloads needing high throughput and multi-AZ resilience, not a serverless profile store where capacity should follow demand invisibly.
- ✓
Amazon DynamoDB
Why this is correct
DynamoDB is fully managed and serverless, scaling throughput automatically via on-demand capacity with no server provisioning or patching. This directly satisfies the stem's constraints of automatic scaling and minimal administration for storing user profiles and preferences.
- ✗
Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL
Why it's wrong here
RDS for PostgreSQL runs on chosen instance classes with manual scaling and patching, so capacity does not follow demand automatically. It fits lift-and-shift relational workloads needing familiar SQL, not a profile store where administration should be near zero.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
Go deeper
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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.