DBS-C01 Deployment and Migration Practice Question
A company is migrating an on-premises PostgreSQL database to Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL. The migration must be completed with minimal downtime. Which TWO AWS services should be used together?
⚠ Common exam trap
The DBS-C01 exam often tests the misconception that AWS DMS alone is sufficient for a homogeneous migration, but the question requires TWO services, and the trap is that candidates overlook the Schema Conversion Tool (SCT) because they assume no schema changes are needed for PostgreSQL-to-PostgreSQL, ignoring potential incompatibilities with extensions or unsupported features in RDS.
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
✓
AWS Database Migration Service (DMS)
AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) is the correct choice because it supports ongoing replication from an on-premises PostgreSQL source to Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL, enabling near-zero downtime migrations. DMS uses change data capture (CDC) to continuously replicate transactions after an initial full load, allowing the target database to stay synchronized until cutover.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
AWS Snowball
Why it's wrong here
Snowball is designed for offline bulk data transfer via physical storage devices, not for continuous replication of live database changes. The migration requires minimal downtime, which demands ongoing change data capture (CDC) — a capability Snowball lacks entirely. It is tempting because Snowball efficiently handles large initial data volumes for one-time migrations where extended downtime is acceptable, such as moving a cold backup to the cloud.
- ✓
AWS Database Migration Service (DMS)
Why this is correct
DMS supports ongoing replication for minimal downtime.
- ✗
AWS CloudEndure Migration
Why it's wrong here
CloudEndure is for server migration, not database migration.
- ✓
AWS Schema Conversion Tool (SCT)
Why this is correct
SCT helps convert the schema for PostgreSQL on RDS.
- ✗
AWS Direct Connect
Why it's wrong here
AWS Direct Connect establishes a dedicated network link from on-premises to AWS, but it does not provide any database replication or migration tooling. The stem requires minimal downtime, which demands a continuous replication mechanism such as AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) with ongoing change data capture. Direct Connect is tempting because it can reduce network latency and improve throughput for large data transfers, and would be correct if the bottleneck were bandwidth or stability during a bulk load, but it cannot alone perform the logical replication needed to keep the source and target synchronised during cutover.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 1,663 original DBS-C01 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. 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.