DBS-C01 Deployment and Migration Practice Question
A company has a 200 GB PostgreSQL database on-premises and wants to migrate to Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL. The company requires encrypted data transfer and wants to minimize downtime. Which combination of services should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates assume native PostgreSQL replication (Option D) is directly supported by RDS, but RDS does not allow external servers to act as replication sources, making DMS with CDC the correct service for minimal-downtime migrations with encrypted transfer.
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
✓
Use AWS DMS with SSL and ongoing replication
AWS DMS with SSL provides encrypted data transfer and supports ongoing replication (change data capture) to minimize downtime. This allows the on-premises PostgreSQL database to remain operational during the initial full load and then continuously replicate changes until cutover, meeting both security and minimal-downtime requirements.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Use native pg_dump to S3, then import to RDS
Why it's wrong here
This requires downtime and does not support CDC.
- ✗
Use AWS VPN to connect on-premises to RDS and perform a database dump
Why it's wrong here
VPN alone does not provide migration; a dump requires downtime.
- ✓
Use AWS DMS with SSL and ongoing replication
Why this is correct
DMS supports encrypted transfer and CDC for minimal downtime.
- ✗
Use an EC2 instance with PostgreSQL replication to RDS
Why it's wrong here
Using an EC2 instance for PostgreSQL replication to RDS introduces unnecessary complexity and management overhead for an on-premises migration. While PostgreSQL replication itself can minimise downtime, this option doesn't leverage AWS's purpose-built managed migration services. For an on-premises to RDS migration requiring encrypted data transfer and minimal downtime, AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) is designed to handle this efficiently. This option is tempting because PostgreSQL replication is a valid technique for continuous data synchronisation, often used for read replicas or setting up custom replication topologies between existing AWS instances or for specific complex scenarios not covered by DMS.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This DBS-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 DBS-C01 exam.