The answer is a Multi-AZ deployment with automatic failover. This is the correct choice because Amazon RDS for MySQL Multi-AZ uses synchronous standby replication to a second Availability Zone, ensuring zero or near-zero data loss, which easily meets the 5-minute RPO, while automatic failover typically completes within one to two minutes, well under the 1-hour RTO. On the AWS Certified Data Engineer Associate DEA-C01 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of balancing cost and recovery objectives—many candidates mistakenly choose a cross-region replica for higher durability, but for a 500 GB database, Multi-AZ is far more cost-effective and still satisfies the given RPO and RTO. A common trap is assuming you need geographic separation for disaster recovery when the requirements only specify Availability Zone isolation. Memory tip: think “same region, sync standby” for low RPO and RTO without cross-region costs.
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 company runs a critical application on Amazon RDS for MySQL that requires a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of 5 minutes and a Recovery Time Objective (RTO) of 1 hour. The database is 500 GB. What is the MOST cost-effective disaster recovery solution that meets these requirements?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use a Multi-AZ deployment with automatic failover.
Multi-AZ RDS for MySQL provides synchronous standby replication to a second Availability Zone, enabling automatic failover with minimal data loss (typically zero) and RTO under 1 hour. This meets the RPO of 5 minutes and RTO of 1 hour without manual intervention, and is more cost-effective than a cross-region replica for a 500 GB database.
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.
✗
Deploy the database in a single Availability Zone and perform manual point-in-time restores.
Why it's wrong here
Single-AZ has no automatic failover; manual restore would exceed RTO.
✗
Take automated snapshots daily and store them in Amazon S3.
Why it's wrong here
Daily snapshots have an RPO of up to 24 hours, exceeding the 5-minute requirement.
✓
Use a Multi-AZ deployment with automatic failover.
Why this is correct
Multi-AZ provides synchronous replication to a standby in another AZ, achieving RPO of seconds and RTO of minutes.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Create a cross-region read replica and promote it during a disaster.
Why it's wrong here
Promoting a read replica can take time and may not meet the 1-hour RTO; also, cross-region replication may have lag.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Multi-AZ (synchronous, same-region, automatic failover) with cross-region read replicas (asynchronous, manual promotion), assuming both provide similar DR capabilities, but Multi-AZ is the only option that meets both RPO and RTO cost-effectively for a single-region requirement.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Multi-AZ RDS for MySQL uses synchronous replication to a standby instance in a different Availability Zone, ensuring zero data loss on failover (RPO=0) under normal conditions. The failover is automatic and typically completes within 60-120 seconds, well within the 1-hour RTO. For a 500 GB database, the cost of Multi-AZ is roughly double the single-AZ instance cost, but avoids the higher cross-region data transfer fees and additional read replica compute costs of Option D.
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 startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
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: Use a Multi-AZ deployment with automatic failover. — Multi-AZ RDS for MySQL provides synchronous standby replication to a second Availability Zone, enabling automatic failover with minimal data loss (typically zero) and RTO under 1 hour. This meets the RPO of 5 minutes and RTO of 1 hour without manual intervention, and is more cost-effective than a cross-region replica for a 500 GB database.
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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Question Discussion
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