DBS-C01 Management and Operations Practice Question
A company is running a production Amazon RDS for MySQL DB instance. The database size is 500 GB and the workload is write-heavy. The team notices that the automated backups are taking longer than expected and are impacting the performance during the backup window. Which action should be taken to minimize the performance impact?
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
✓
Create a read replica and configure automated backups on the replica.
Creating a read replica and configuring automated backups on the replica offloads the backup process from the primary DB instance. Since the workload is write-heavy, this minimizes the performance impact on the primary during the backup window. Option A is incorrect because disabling automated backups removes the ability to perform point-in-time recovery, which is risky for a production database. Option C is incorrect because increasing the DB instance size may improve backup speed but does not eliminate the performance impact on the primary instance, and it adds unnecessary cost. Option D is incorrect because moving the backup window to a low workload time does not reduce the performance impact during that window; it only changes when the impact occurs, and the workload may still be significant.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Disable automated backups and rely on manual snapshots taken during off-peak hours.
Why it's wrong here
Disabling automated backups is not recommended for production environments as it increases the risk of data loss.
- ✓
Create a read replica and configure automated backups on the replica.
Why this is correct
Offloading backups to a read replica ensures that backup operations do not affect the primary instance's performance.
- ✗
Increase the DB instance size to improve backup performance.
Why it's wrong here
Increasing instance size may speed up backups but does not directly minimize the performance impact on the workload; it also increases costs.
- ✗
Move the backup window to a time when the workload is lowest.
Why it's wrong here
Changing the backup window does not reduce the duration of the backup or its impact on performance; it only shifts the impact to a different time.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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