DBS-C01 Hot Partition Practice Question
A company is running an Amazon DynamoDB table with provisioned capacity. The table has a partition key of 'user_id' and a sort key of 'timestamp'. The application performs frequent Query operations using the partition key and a range of sort keys. Recently, the 'ThrottledRequests' metric has spiked. The read and write capacity units are consistently at 80% utilization. What is the most effective way to resolve the throttling?
⚠ Common exam trap
Auto Scaling with a higher target utilization seems like a quick fix but actually makes hot partition problems worse by allowing higher utilization before scaling.
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
✓
Change the partition key to a more uniformly distributed attribute
The throttling is likely due to uneven access patterns creating hot partitions. By changing the partition key to a more uniformly distributed attribute, the load is spread evenly across partitions, reducing throttling without needing to increase capacity. Option D is incorrect because enabling Auto Scaling with a higher target utilization delays scaling and can worsen throttling on hot partitions; it does not address the root cause. Option A is incorrect because increasing capacity may not help if a hot partition is throttled, and it increases costs. Option B is incorrect because adding a GSI does not reduce throttling on the base table; it only provides an alternative access pattern.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Increase the provisioned read and write capacity units
Why it's wrong here
Increasing capacity may not resolve hot partition throttling and increases cost; not the most effective solution.
- ✗
Add a global secondary index with a different partition key
Why it's wrong here
Adding a GSI does not affect base table throttling; it only provides a secondary index for queries.
- ✓
Change the partition key to a more uniformly distributed attribute
Why this is correct
Correct: Redesigning the partition key to be more uniform evenly distributes the workload, directly addressing the root cause of throttling.
- ✗
Enable DynamoDB Auto Scaling with a higher target utilization
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: Auto Scaling with higher target utilization delays scaling and can worsen throttling on hot partitions; it does not fix the uneven access pattern.
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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.