DBS-C01 Workload-Specific Database Design Practice Question
A company is migrating an on-premises Oracle data warehouse to AWS. The warehouse contains 20 TB of data and supports complex SQL queries with joins and aggregations. The migration should minimize downtime and require minimal changes to existing SQL queries. Which database service is MOST appropriate?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates choose Amazon RDS for Oracle because they recognize Oracle as a familiar database, overlooking that RDS is optimized for OLTP, not for the analytical, large-scale data warehouse workload described in the question.
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
✓
Amazon Redshift
Amazon Redshift is the most appropriate choice because it is a fully managed, petabyte-scale data warehouse service designed for complex SQL queries with joins and aggregations. It supports standard SQL with minimal changes to existing queries, and its columnar storage and massively parallel processing (MPP) architecture are optimized for analytical workloads. The 20 TB data size and requirement to minimize downtime align with Redshift's ability to perform online resizing and use features like RA3 nodes with managed storage for elastic scaling.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Amazon RDS for Oracle
Why it's wrong here
RDS is optimized for OLTP, not large-scale data warehousing.
- ✗
Amazon DynamoDB
Why it's wrong here
DynamoDB is NoSQL and not suitable for complex SQL queries.
- ✗
Amazon ElastiCache for Redis
Why it's wrong here
ElastiCache is an in-memory cache, not a data warehouse.
- ✓
Amazon Redshift
Why this is correct
Redshift is purpose-built for data warehousing with complex query support.
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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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.