DBS-C01 Workload-Specific Database Design Practice Question
A company is migrating a 3 TB Oracle database to Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL. The database has a heavy OLTP workload with many small transactions. The migration must have minimal downtime. Which TWO strategies should the company use? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse schema conversion tools (SCT) with data migration tools (DMS), or mistakenly think that creating a read replica from a non-Aurora source is possible, leading them to select options that do not address the minimal downtime requirement.
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 ongoing replication to capture and apply changes.
AWS DMS with ongoing replication (CDC) is the correct strategy because it allows continuous capture and application of changes from the source Oracle database to the target Aurora PostgreSQL, enabling minimal downtime during migration. The heavy OLTP workload with many small transactions is well-suited for DMS's change data capture, which can handle high-volume transactional changes efficiently.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Convert the database to Amazon Aurora MySQL instead.
Why it's wrong here
Would still require migration; Aurora PostgreSQL is more compatible.
- ✗
Create an Aurora read replica from the Oracle database.
Why it's wrong here
Aurora read replicas cannot be created from external databases.
- ✓
Use AWS DMS with ongoing replication to capture and apply changes.
Why this is correct
Provides minimal downtime by replicating changes continuously.
- ✗
Use AWS Schema Conversion Tool (SCT) to convert the schema.
Why it's wrong here
SCT converts schema but does not handle data replication.
- ✓
Set the target database to Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL.
Why this is correct
Aurora PostgreSQL is the target for migration from Oracle.
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