DBS-C01 Management and Operations Practice Question
A company is using Amazon ElastiCache for Redis to cache database query results. The application team reports that cache hit ratio has dropped significantly. What is the first step to investigate?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to assume the first step should be a low-level Redis command (INFO) or logs, but AWS best practice emphasizes using CloudWatch metrics for initial investigation because they provide aggregated, historical data without requiring direct access to the cluster.
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
✓
Check the CacheHitRate and Evictions metrics in CloudWatch
When the cache hit ratio drops significantly, the first step is to investigate whether the cache is evicting keys due to memory pressure or if the working set no longer fits. CloudWatch metrics such as `CacheHitRate` and `Evictions` provide immediate visibility into these conditions without requiring direct Redis access. This aligns with the AWS Well-Architected Framework's principle of observability before making configuration changes.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Run the Redis INFO command to see memory usage
Why it's wrong here
Memory usage may be relevant, but cache hit ratio is the primary metric.
- ✗
Review the ElastiCache event logs for node failures
Why it's wrong here
Node failures would cause complete cache misses, not just reduced hit ratio.
- ✓
Check the CacheHitRate and Evictions metrics in CloudWatch
Why this is correct
These metrics directly indicate cache effectiveness.
- ✗
Check the Redis AOF persistence logs
Why it's wrong here
Persistence logs are for durability, not cache performance.
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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.