DBS-C01 Deployment and Migration Practice Question
A company is migrating a 1 TB Microsoft SQL Server database to Amazon RDS for SQL Server using native backup and restore. The DBA has taken a full backup of the source database and uploaded it to an S3 bucket. The DBA then uses the 'aws rds restore-db-instance-from-db-snapshot' CLI command to restore the backup to an RDS instance. The restore fails with an error: 'Could not find the specified backup file in the S3 bucket.' The DBA verifies that the backup file exists in the correct S3 bucket and that the IAM role used by RDS has permissions to access the bucket. What is the most likely cause of the failure?
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
✓
The backup file is not placed in the correct S3 bucket path that includes the account ID prefix.
When restoring a native backup from S3 to RDS, the backup file must be stored in a path that includes the AWS account ID as a prefix (e.g., /123456789012/backup.bak). RDS for SQL Server expects this specific path structure to locate the file. Even if the file exists in the bucket and permissions are correct, a wrong path causes the 'Could not find the specified backup file' error. Option A is wrong because the file extension is not the issue; RDS accepts .bak and .trn files. Option B is wrong because encryption is not required for native restore. Option C is wrong because native restore is a supported feature on RDS for SQL Server; the error is about file location, not configuration.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The backup file has an incorrect file extension, such as .trn instead of .bak.
Why it's wrong here
RDS supports both .bak and .trn extensions for native restore.
- ✗
The backup file is not encrypted with AWS KMS.
Why it's wrong here
Native restore does not require encryption; it can restore unencrypted backups.
- ✗
The RDS instance is not configured to use native restore.
Why it's wrong here
RDS supports native restore from S3 by default.
- ✓
The backup file is not placed in the correct S3 bucket path that includes the account ID prefix.
Why this is correct
RDS expects the backup file to be in a path like 'bucket-name/account-id/filename'. If missing, it cannot find the file.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
Go deeper
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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.