DBS-C01 Workload-Specific Database Design Practice Question
A company is using Amazon DynamoDB for a gaming leaderboard that updates frequently. They need to maintain a sorted list of top 100 players by score. Which THREE design patterns can achieve this efficiently?
⚠ Common exam trap
The DBS-C01 exam often tests the misconception that DAX can perform sorting or ranking operations, but DAX is only a cache and cannot reorder data or maintain sorted sets.
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 a Global Secondary Index (GSI) with score as the sort key and query with ScanIndexForward=false and Limit=100.
A Global Secondary Index (GSI) with score as the sort key allows you to query items in descending order using ScanIndexForward=false and limit the result to the top 100 players. This pattern efficiently retrieves the highest scores without scanning the entire table, leveraging DynamoDB's index query capabilities.
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 a Global Secondary Index (GSI) with score as the sort key and query with ScanIndexForward=false and Limit=100.
Why this is correct
This retrieves the top 100 scores efficiently.
- ✗
Use DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) to cache query results.
Why it's wrong here
DAX caches individual items or query results but does not provide sorted set functionality.
- ✓
Use DynamoDB Streams and AWS Lambda to maintain a separate leaderboard table with the top 100 scores.
Why this is correct
Streams capture updates and Lambda can update a curated leaderboard.
- ✗
Scan the entire table and sort the results in memory.
Why it's wrong here
Scanning is inefficient and costly for large tables.
- ✓
Use Amazon ElastiCache for Redis with sorted sets to maintain the leaderboard.
Why this is correct
Redis sorted sets provide O(log N) operations for maintaining a sorted list.
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