The answer is to configure a DB subnet group with subnets in at least two Availability Zones, enable automated backups with a retention period, and deploy the RDS instance as a Multi-AZ deployment. This trio of configurations is essential because Multi-AZ failover relies on a synchronized standby in a different AZ, and automated backups provide the transaction logs needed to keep that standby consistent and to enable point-in-time recovery after a failover event. On the AWS Certified Data Engineer Associate DEA-C01 exam, this question tests your understanding that high availability is not just about redundancy but about the underlying synchronization mechanism—a common trap is thinking that Multi-AZ alone suffices without automated backups. Remember the memory tip: “Two AZs for redundancy, backups for continuity, Multi-AZ for automatic failover.”
DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data store management. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 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?
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.
Option B is correct because 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.
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 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.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Enable Multi-AZ deployment.
Why this is correct
Multi-AZ provides automatic failover to a standby in a different AZ.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Configure a DB subnet group with subnets in at least two Availability Zones.
Why this is correct
Required for Multi-AZ deployment.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Create a read replica in a different region.
Why it's wrong here
Read replicas do not provide automatic failover.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often 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.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Multi-AZ deployment works by synchronously replicating data to a standby instance in a different Availability Zone using Amazon's block-level replication. During a failover, RDS automatically updates the DNS record to point to the standby, typically completing within 60–120 seconds. Automated backups must be enabled because the standby instance relies on the same backup and transaction log stream to maintain consistency.
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
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
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.
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: Enable automated backups with a retention period. — Option B is correct because 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.
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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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: Multi-AZ deployment with a standby in a different AZ provides high availability and automatic failover. Read replicas are for read scaling, not failover. Single-AZ lacks resilience.
Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
Question Discussion
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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.
Question Discussion
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