Quick Answer
The answer is PhysicalReads, WriteOperations, and DirtyBufferFlushes. These three Enhanced Monitoring metrics directly indicate disk I/O because physical reads require fetching data from storage, write operations generate new data on disk, and dirty buffer flushes force modified memory pages to be written to disk. Logical reads, by contrast, are served from the buffer pool in memory and do not involve disk access, while network throughput measures data transfer over the network rather than storage activity. On the AWS Certified Database Specialty DBS-C01 exam, this question tests your ability to distinguish between memory-level and disk-level operations, a common trap where candidates confuse logical reads with physical I/O. A useful memory tip is to think of the three Ds: Disk, Data, and Dirty—physical reads hit the disk, write operations write data, and dirty buffer flushes flush dirty pages.
This DBS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of monitoring and troubleshooting. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company is using Amazon RDS for MySQL and has enabled Enhanced Monitoring. The database administrator wants to identify the top contributors to disk I/O. Which THREE metrics from Enhanced Monitoring should they examine?
DirtyBufferFlushRate
Indicates how often dirty buffers are written to disk.
NetworkThroughput
Why wrong: Network throughput is not disk I/O.
LogicalReads
Why wrong: Logical reads are from memory, not disk.
WriteOps
Measures the number of write operations.
PhysicalReads
Directly measures disk read operations.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
DirtyBufferFlushRate
Option A is correct because physical reads cause disk I/O. Option C is correct because write operations generate I/O. Option D is correct because dirty buffer flushes cause writes. Option B is incorrect because logical reads are from memory, not disk. Option E is incorrect because network throughput is not disk I/O.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
DirtyBufferFlushRate
Why this is correct
Indicates how often dirty buffers are written to disk.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
NetworkThroughput
Why it's wrong here
Network throughput is not disk I/O.
LogicalReads
Why it's wrong here
Logical reads are from memory, not disk.
WriteOps
Why this is correct
Measures the number of write operations.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
PhysicalReads
Why this is correct
Directly measures disk read operations.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A healthcare organisation deploys an application with a public-facing web tier and a private database tier. The database subnet has no public IP and only accepts connections from the web tier's security group. Questions like this test whether you can design cloud network isolation using VNets/VPCs, subnets, and security group rules.
What to study next
Identify which DBS-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
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FAQ
Monitoring and Troubleshooting — This question tests Monitoring and Troubleshooting — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: DirtyBufferFlushRate — Option A is correct because physical reads cause disk I/O. Option C is correct because write operations generate I/O. Option D is correct because dirty buffer flushes cause writes. Option B is incorrect because logical reads are from memory, not disk. Option E is incorrect because network throughput is not disk I/O.
Identify which DBS-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 20, 2026
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.
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