DBS-C01 Deployment and Migration Practice Question
A company is migrating a 5 TB Oracle database to Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL. They have a 4-hour maintenance window weekly. Which THREE steps should be taken to minimize downtime? (Choose 3)
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers assume AWS Direct Connect (Option C) is always the best choice for large data transfers, but for a 5 TB initial load, Snowball is faster and more cost-effective than even a 10 Gbps Direct Connect link, which would still take over an hour for the transfer alone, not accounting for schema conversion and CDC setup.
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 Snowball to transfer the initial data load.
AWS Snowball provides a physical data transfer mechanism that avoids saturating the network for the initial 5 TB load, which could otherwise take days over typical internet connections. This allows the bulk data to be loaded into Amazon S3 and then into Aurora PostgreSQL before the cutover, while AWS DMS with CDC (Option D) captures ongoing changes to keep the target synchronized with the source during the migration window. Option E is correct because the AWS Schema Conversion Tool (SCT) is essential for converting the Oracle schema (including data types, stored procedures, and indexes) to Aurora PostgreSQL-compatible format before data migration begins, ensuring compatibility and reducing downtime during the final sync.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Create an Aurora read replica for testing.
Why it's wrong here
Not needed for migration.
- ✓
Use AWS Snowball to transfer the initial data load.
Why this is correct
Speeds up initial load.
- ✗
Use AWS Direct Connect for network connectivity.
Why it's wrong here
Not directly related to downtime minimization.
- ✓
Use AWS DMS with change data capture (CDC).
Why this is correct
Reduces downtime.
- ✓
Use AWS Schema Conversion Tool (SCT) to convert schema.
Why this is correct
Prepares schema for Aurora.
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.