DBS-C01 Workload-Specific Database Design Practice Question
A company is building a microservices architecture and needs a database for a service that stores JSON documents with variable schema. The database must support high availability and automatic scaling. Which TWO services meet these requirements? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
AWS often tests the misconception that any database supporting JSON (like MySQL with JSON data type) qualifies as a document database for variable schema workloads, but the key differentiator is automatic scaling and native document store capabilities, which DynamoDB and DocumentDB provide, while RDS does not.
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
✓
Amazon DynamoDB
Amazon DynamoDB is correct because it is a fully managed NoSQL key-value and document database that natively supports JSON documents with variable schema, offers high availability through multi-AZ replication, and provides automatic scaling via its on-demand capacity mode or auto-scaling policies. It is ideal for microservices architectures that require low-latency, serverless, and elastic throughput.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Amazon ElastiCache for Redis
Why it's wrong here
ElastiCache is a cache, not a primary database.
- ✓
Amazon DynamoDB
Why this is correct
DynamoDB supports JSON documents, high availability, and auto scaling.
- ✓
Amazon DocumentDB
Why this is correct
DocumentDB is MongoDB-compatible, supports JSON, and provides automatic scaling.
- ✗
Amazon Neptune
Why it's wrong here
Neptune is a graph database, not document-oriented.
- ✗
Amazon RDS for MySQL
Why it's wrong here
RDS is relational and does not natively support variable schema JSON.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This DBS-C01 question is part of Courseiva's 1,663-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
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.