This DBS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of database security. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 Oracle and wants to integrate with AWS CloudTrail to log database API calls. Which action is necessary?
Enable CloudTrail for the RDS instance.
CloudTrail already logs RDS API calls; no special setup needed.
Create a VPC endpoint for CloudTrail.
Why wrong: Unnecessary for logging RDS API calls.
Configure Oracle Fine-Grained Auditing (FGA).
Why wrong: FGA is for SQL audit, but the question asks for API calls; CloudTrail covers that.
Install the pgAudit extension.
Why wrong: pgAudit is for PostgreSQL, not Oracle.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Enable CloudTrail for the RDS instance.
AWS CloudTrail is the service that logs API calls made to AWS services, including Amazon RDS. To capture database API calls (e.g., CreateDBInstance, ModifyDBInstance) for an RDS for Oracle instance, you must enable CloudTrail for the RDS instance by creating a trail that covers the RDS service. This logs management events at the AWS control plane level, not the database engine level.
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.
Enable CloudTrail for the RDS instance.
Why this is correct
CloudTrail already logs RDS API calls; no special setup needed.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Create a VPC endpoint for CloudTrail.
Why it's wrong here
Unnecessary for logging RDS API calls.
Configure Oracle Fine-Grained Auditing (FGA).
Why it's wrong here
FGA is for SQL audit, but the question asks for API calls; CloudTrail covers that.
Install the pgAudit extension.
Why it's wrong here
pgAudit is for PostgreSQL, not Oracle.
Common exam traps
The trap here is confusing AWS-level API logging (CloudTrail) with database engine-level auditing (FGA, pgAudit), leading candidates to select database-specific auditing tools instead of the correct AWS service for logging control plane API calls.
Detailed technical explanation
CloudTrail captures management events for RDS, such as CreateDBInstance, ModifyDBInstance, and DeleteDBInstance, by recording API calls made via the AWS Management Console, SDKs, or CLI. These events are stored in an S3 bucket or CloudWatch Logs, and they include details like the IAM user, source IP, and request parameters. For data events (e.g., SQL queries), you would need database-level auditing like Oracle FGA or RDS Enhanced Monitoring, not CloudTrail.
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.
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FAQ
Database Security — This question tests Database Security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Enable CloudTrail for the RDS instance. — AWS CloudTrail is the service that logs API calls made to AWS services, including Amazon RDS. To capture database API calls (e.g., CreateDBInstance, ModifyDBInstance) for an RDS for Oracle instance, you must enable CloudTrail for the RDS instance by creating a trail that covers the RDS service. This logs management events at the AWS control plane level, not the database engine level.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 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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