DBS-C01 Deployment and Migration Practice Question
A company is migrating a 500 GB Oracle database to Amazon RDS for Oracle. The migration must complete within a 4-hour downtime window. The network bandwidth is 1 Gbps. Which migration approach minimizes the migration time?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates often overcomplicate the migration by choosing tools like SCT or DataSync, not realizing that for homogeneous Oracle-to-Oracle migrations, a direct DMS full load is the simplest and fastest approach, and that Data Pump or file-based methods introduce unnecessary overhead.
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 to perform a full load of the database to RDS.
AWS DMS performs a full load directly from the source Oracle database to the target RDS for Oracle instance over the network, leveraging the 1 Gbps bandwidth efficiently. For a 500 GB database, a full load at 1 Gbps (theoretical max ~450 Gbps per hour) can complete in under 2 hours, well within the 4-hour window, without requiring intermediate storage or schema conversion.
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 Schema Conversion Tool (SCT) to convert the schema, then use AWS DMS for data migration.
Why it's wrong here
SCT is for schema conversion, not data migration; DMS alone is used for data.
- ✗
Use Oracle Data Pump to export and import the database.
Why it's wrong here
Data Pump export/import can be slow and may not complete within 4 hours over 1 Gbps.
- ✓
Use AWS DMS to perform a full load of the database to RDS.
Why this is correct
DMS can efficiently migrate data directly to RDS, minimizing migration time.
- ✗
Use AWS DataSync to copy the database files to Amazon S3, then restore to RDS.
Why it's wrong here
DataSync is for file transfers, not database migration; restoring from S3 is not supported by RDS for Oracle.
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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