DBS-C01 Deployment and Migration Practice Question
A company is migrating an on-premises PostgreSQL database to Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL. They need to minimize downtime and ensure data consistency. Which TWO methods can be used together to achieve this?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates think pg_dump/restore (Option B) is sufficient for minimal downtime, but they overlook that it requires a consistent snapshot and cannot capture ongoing changes, whereas the correct answer combines a full load with CDC to achieve near-zero downtime.
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 full load and CDC
AWS DMS with full load and Change Data Capture (CDC) enables a zero-downtime migration by first copying the existing data (full load) and then continuously replicating ongoing changes from the on-premises PostgreSQL source to the Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL target. This ensures data consistency because CDC captures transactions in near real-time using the PostgreSQL logical replication slot mechanism, allowing the target to stay synchronized until the 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.
- ✗
Take a file system snapshot and copy to Amazon EBS
Why it's wrong here
File system snapshots are not directly usable for RDS.
- ✗
Use pg_dump and pg_restore
Why it's wrong here
This is a one-time export/import, not ongoing replication.
- ✓
Use AWS DMS with full load and CDC
Why this is correct
DMS can replicate data continuously.
- ✗
Export data to Amazon S3 and import using COPY
Why it's wrong here
This is a batch approach, not ongoing replication.
- ✓
Set up pglogical replication from on-premises to RDS
Why this is correct
pglogical provides logical replication to minimize downtime.
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.