DBS-C01 Deployment and Migration Practice Question
A company is migrating a 200 GB MySQL database to Amazon Aurora MySQL. The migration must be completed within a 1-hour downtime window. Which TWO methods can achieve this?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to assume AWS DMS is always the fastest migration method, but for large databases with a strict downtime window, physical backups (XtraBackup) and parallel logical dumps (mysqldump) can be more efficient because they avoid the overhead of CDC setup and can be tuned for maximum throughput.
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 Percona XtraBackup to create a physical backup, upload to S3, and restore to Aurora.
Percona XtraBackup creates a physical backup of the MySQL data files, which can be uploaded to Amazon S3 and then restored directly into an Aurora MySQL cluster. This method is significantly faster than logical backups for large databases (200 GB) because it bypasses SQL parsing and row-by-row insertion, making it feasible within a 1-hour downtime window.
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 AWS SCT to convert the schema and then perform a data load.
Why it's wrong here
SCT is for schema conversion, not data migration.
- ✗
Use AWS DMS with full load only.
Why it's wrong here
DMS full load may be slower due to network overhead.
- ✓
Use Percona XtraBackup to create a physical backup, upload to S3, and restore to Aurora.
Why this is correct
XtraBackup is fast and Aurora supports restoring from it via S3.
- ✓
Use mysqldump with parallel threads and import using mysql command.
Why this is correct
Parallel mysqldump can reduce export time, and import can be done efficiently.
- ✗
Create an RDS Read Replica of the on-premises database and promote it.
Why it's wrong here
Cannot create RDS Read Replica from on-premises.
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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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.