DBS-C01 Management and Operations Practice Question
A company is using Amazon DynamoDB with Auto Scaling enabled. The database specialist notices that write traffic is being throttled occasionally. Which TWO factors could cause throttling despite Auto Scaling?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often assume Auto Scaling eliminates all throttling, but it cannot prevent throttling caused by hot partitions or when traffic exceeds the configured maximum capacity ceiling.
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
✓
The write traffic exceeds the maximum provisioned capacity that was set for Auto Scaling.
Auto Scaling in DynamoDB operates within a maximum provisioned capacity ceiling. If write traffic exceeds this configured maximum, Auto Scaling cannot increase capacity further, leading to throttling. The service will return ProvisionedThroughputExceededException for requests that exceed the set maximum.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The table has Global Tables enabled, causing cross-region replication overhead.
Why it's wrong here
Global Tables do not cause throttling; they replicate writes.
- ✗
Auto Scaling is not configured to scale up quickly enough for sudden traffic spikes.
Why it's wrong here
Auto Scaling can handle spikes, but it may not react instantly.
- ✗
DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) is not caching write operations.
Why it's wrong here
DAX is a read cache and does not affect writes.
- ✓
The write traffic exceeds the maximum provisioned capacity that was set for Auto Scaling.
Why this is correct
Auto Scaling cannot scale beyond the configured maximum.
- ✓
A hot partition where a single partition key receives a disproportionate amount of write traffic.
Why this is correct
Hot partitions can exceed the per-partition throughput limit.
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