DBS-C01 Deployment and Migration Practice Question
A company is deploying a new application that uses Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL. The application must be highly available with automatic failover in the event of a database failure. Which configuration should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse read replicas with Multi-AZ, assuming a read replica can serve as a failover target, but AWS explicitly requires manual promotion for read replicas and does not provide automatic failover.
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
✓
Deploy a Multi-AZ RDS instance with a standby in a different Availability Zone
Multi-AZ RDS for PostgreSQL provides synchronous replication to a standby instance in a different Availability Zone, ensuring automatic failover with minimal data loss. This configuration meets the requirement for high availability and automatic failover without manual intervention, as the RDS service handles the DNS change and standby promotion.
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 a Multi-AZ RDS instance with a standby in a different Availability Zone
Why this is correct
Multi-AZ provides automatic failover for high availability.
- ✗
Use a read replica in a different Availability Zone
Why it's wrong here
Read replicas do not provide automatic failover.
- ✗
Deploy the RDS instance in a single Availability Zone with automated backups
Why it's wrong here
Automated backups allow point-in-time recovery but do not provide automatic failover.
- ✗
Deploy the RDS instance in a Cross-Region replication configuration
Why it's wrong here
Cross-Region replication is for disaster recovery, not automatic failover.
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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.