- A
Enable Multi-AZ deployment on the primary instance.
Why wrong: Multi-AZ is for high availability within a region, not disaster recovery.
- B
Configure automated backups to copy to the recovery region.
Why wrong: RDS automated backups are region-specific; cannot be copied automatically.
- C
Configure automated cross-region snapshots to be copied to the recovery region.
Cross-region snapshot copy allows restoring in another region.
- D
Create a cross-region read replica in the desired recovery region.
Read replicas can be promoted to a primary instance in another region.
Question 21 of 1,786
DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
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 company is designing a disaster recovery strategy for an Amazon RDS for SQL Server database. The database must be recoverable in another AWS region within 15 minutes of a regional outage. Which TWO actions should the data engineer take?
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
✓
Configure automated cross-region snapshots to be copied to the recovery region.
Option C is correct because cross-region snapshots for Amazon RDS are automatically copied to a destination AWS region, enabling you to restore the database in the recovery region from the most recent snapshot. This meets the 15-minute recovery time objective (RTO) when combined with a pre-provisioned DB instance, as the snapshot copy is asynchronous but can be scheduled to occur frequently (e.g., every 5 minutes for SQL Server).
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
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 on the primary instance.
Why it's wrong here
Multi-AZ is for high availability within a region, not disaster recovery.
- ✗
Configure automated backups to copy to the recovery region.
Why it's wrong here
RDS automated backups are region-specific; cannot be copied automatically.
- ✓
Configure automated cross-region snapshots to be copied to the recovery region.
Why this is correct
Cross-region snapshot copy allows restoring in another region.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Create a cross-region read replica in the desired recovery region.
Why this is correct
Read replicas can be promoted to a primary instance in another region.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse Multi-AZ (regional high availability) with cross-region disaster recovery, or they assume automated backups can be copied across regions, but AWS does not support automatic cross-region backup copying for RDS.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Cross-region snapshot copy uses Amazon S3 cross-region replication (CRR) under the hood, where the snapshot is transferred asynchronously to the destination region's S3 bucket. For SQL Server, the RTO depends on the snapshot copy interval (minimum 5 minutes) and the time to restore from the snapshot, which can be optimized by pre-warming the restored instance or using a read replica in the recovery region. Note that cross-region read replicas for SQL Server are supported only for Enterprise Edition, and they use native SQL Server log shipping for replication, which can introduce lag.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
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
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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Data Store Management — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this DEA-C01 question test?
Data Store Management — This question tests Data Store Management — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Configure automated cross-region snapshots to be copied to the recovery region. — Option C is correct because cross-region snapshots for Amazon RDS are automatically copied to a destination AWS region, enabling you to restore the database in the recovery region from the most recent snapshot. This meets the 15-minute recovery time objective (RTO) when combined with a pre-provisioned DB instance, as the snapshot copy is asynchronous but can be scheduled to occur frequently (e.g., every 5 minutes for SQL Server).
What should I do if I get this DEA-C01 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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