DBS-C01 AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) Practice Question
A company is migrating an on-premises Oracle database to Amazon RDS for Oracle. The database is 2 TB in size and has a high transaction rate. The migration must have minimal downtime. Which migration strategy should a database specialist recommend?
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 changes.
AWS DMS with ongoing replication allows for minimal downtime by continuously replicating changes from the source Oracle database to the target Amazon RDS for Oracle, allowing a cutover with only a brief pause. Option B is incorrect because copying data files to S3 and loading into RDS is not a supported migration path for RDS for Oracle and would require significant downtime. Option C is incorrect because Oracle Data Pump export and import requires the source database to be offline or in read-only mode during export, causing downtime. Option D is incorrect because RMAN backup and restore is not natively supported for RDS for Oracle and would involve complex manual steps and downtime.
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 DMS with ongoing replication to capture changes.
Why this is correct
DMS with CDC allows near-zero downtime migration.
- ✗
Copy the data files to Amazon S3 and then load into RDS.
Why it's wrong here
This requires the database to be shut down during file copy.
- ✗
Use Oracle Data Pump to export and import the database.
Why it's wrong here
Oracle Data Pump is an offline, logical export-import tool that requires the source database to be quiesced or taken offline for a consistent snapshot, which conflicts with the stem’s requirement for minimal downtime under a high transaction rate. It is tempting because Data Pump is a native Oracle utility often used for schema-level migrations or smaller databases where a brief outage is acceptable, making it correct for a non-real-time, low-transaction environment.
- ✗
Perform an RMAN backup and restore to RDS.
Why it's wrong here
RMAN backup/restore is not supported for RDS Oracle directly.
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
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This DBS-C01 question is part of Courseiva's 1,663-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
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.