Quick Answer
The answer is that the primary instance continues to accept both read and write operations. This is because Amazon RDS for SQL Server with Always On Availability Groups treats the secondary as a read replica, not as a synchronous partner that blocks primary writes; the primary operates independently and does not require the secondary to be reachable for transaction processing. On the AWS Certified Database Specialty DBS-C01 exam, this scenario tests your understanding that read replica failures do not trigger automatic failover or degrade the primary’s role—a common trap is assuming the primary becomes read-only or stops writes during a secondary outage. Remember the key distinction: in a Multi-AZ deployment with synchronous replication, a primary failure triggers failover, but a read replica failure simply means reads are unavailable until the replica recovers. Memory tip: “Primary stays primary; replica failure is a read-only problem, not a write problem.”
This DBS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of management and operations. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 SQL Server with Always On Availability Groups. The primary DB instance is in us-east-1, and the secondary is in us-west-2. The application writes to the primary and reads from the secondary. The secondary instance becomes unreachable due to a network issue. What happens to the primary instance?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "primary"
Why it matters: Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
Clue: "always"
Why it matters: Absolute qualifier. An answer using 'always' is only correct if there are genuinely no exceptions — absolute statements are often wrong in networking.
The primary continues to accept read and write operations.
The primary operates independently.
The primary stops accepting write operations.
Why wrong: The primary continues to accept writes.
The primary automatically fails over to the secondary.
Why wrong: Failover occurs only if the primary fails.
The primary becomes read-only until the secondary is restored.
Why wrong: No, the primary remains writable.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
The primary continues to accept read and write operations.
Option A is correct because the primary continues to accept writes independently; the secondary failure does not affect primary operations. Option B is wrong because failover is not automatic for read replicas. Option C is wrong because the primary does not become read-only. Option D is wrong because write operations continue.
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.
The primary continues to accept read and write operations.
Why this is correct
The primary operates independently.
Clue confirmation
The clue words "primary", "always" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
The primary stops accepting write operations.
Why it's wrong here
The primary continues to accept writes.
The primary automatically fails over to the secondary.
Why it's wrong here
Failover occurs only if the primary fails.
The primary becomes read-only until the secondary is restored.
Why it's wrong here
No, the primary remains writable.
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
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
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.
Management and Operations — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Management and Operations — This question tests Management and Operations — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: The primary continues to accept read and write operations. — Option A is correct because the primary continues to accept writes independently; the secondary failure does not affect primary operations. Option B is wrong because failover is not automatic for read replicas. Option C is wrong because the primary does not become read-only. Option D is wrong because write operations continue.
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.
Yes — watch for: "primary", "always". Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
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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