- A
Create manual snapshots daily and delete automated backups.
Correct. By creating manual snapshots daily and reducing or disabling automated backups, the WAL retention is minimized, reducing storage. Manual snapshots provide 30-day retention for compliance.
- B
Change the instance type to a larger one with more storage.
Why wrong: Incorrect. Changing instance type or adding storage does not control WAL growth; it only temporarily alleviates space issues.
- C
Increase the backup retention period to 30 days.
Why wrong: Incorrect. Increasing backup retention to 30 days actually retains more WAL files, causing further growth. This worsens the storage issue.
- D
Configure the database to stream WAL files to Amazon S3.
Why wrong: Incorrect. Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL does not support direct streaming of WAL files to S3. This feature is not available.
DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data store management. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 media company stores video metadata in Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL. The database is 500 GB and experiences high write traffic. The data engineer notices that the transaction log (WAL) is growing rapidly, causing storage issues. The company needs to retain backups for 30 days for compliance. The database is currently using automated backups with a retention period of 7 days. Which solution should the engineer implement to address the WAL growth while meeting compliance requirements?
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 manual snapshots daily and delete automated backups.
Option A is correct because creating manual snapshots daily and reducing or eliminating automated backups addresses WAL growth. Automated backups in RDS for PostgreSQL depend on WAL files to enable point-in-time recovery. By disabling automated backups or setting a very short retention period, RDS can purge WAL segments more aggressively, preventing accumulation. Manual snapshots can be retained for 30 days to meet compliance requirements without relying on WAL. Increasing backup retention (Option C) would worsen WAL storage, while streaming WAL to S3 (Option D) is not natively supported in RDS. Option B only adds storage without addressing the root cause.
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.
- ✓
Create manual snapshots daily and delete automated backups.
Why this is correct
Correct. By creating manual snapshots daily and reducing or disabling automated backups, the WAL retention is minimized, reducing storage. Manual snapshots provide 30-day retention for compliance.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Change the instance type to a larger one with more storage.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Changing instance type or adding storage does not control WAL growth; it only temporarily alleviates space issues.
- ✗
Increase the backup retention period to 30 days.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Increasing backup retention to 30 days actually retains more WAL files, causing further growth. This worsens the storage issue.
- ✗
Configure the database to stream WAL files to Amazon S3.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL does not support direct streaming of WAL files to S3. This feature is not available.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap is that candidates may think that increasing backup retention to 30 days (Option C) meets compliance and helps WAL cleanup, but in reality, longer retention retains more WAL segments, exacerbating storage issues. The correct approach is to decouple compliance backups (via manual snapshots) from automated backups, which control WAL retention.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL uses WAL segments to enable automated backups and PITR. The `wal_keep_segments` parameter (or `wal_keep_size` in newer versions) and the backup retention period together determine how long WAL files are retained. When the retention period is increased, RDS automatically adjusts the WAL retention policy, ensuring that old WAL segments are removed after they are no longer needed for recovery within the new window. In contrast, manual snapshots capture a point-in-time state but do not influence WAL lifecycle, so they cannot mitigate WAL accumulation.
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.
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 |
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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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: Create manual snapshots daily and delete automated backups. — Option A is correct because creating manual snapshots daily and reducing or eliminating automated backups addresses WAL growth. Automated backups in RDS for PostgreSQL depend on WAL files to enable point-in-time recovery. By disabling automated backups or setting a very short retention period, RDS can purge WAL segments more aggressively, preventing accumulation. Manual snapshots can be retained for 30 days to meet compliance requirements without relying on WAL. Increasing backup retention (Option C) would worsen WAL storage, while streaming WAL to S3 (Option D) is not natively supported in RDS. Option B only adds storage without addressing the root cause.
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: Jun 24, 2026
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