DBS-C01 Management and Operations Practice Question
A company manages multiple RDS for PostgreSQL instances in different AWS accounts. The security team requires that all DB instances have automated backups enabled with a retention period of at least 14 days. How can the company enforce this policy across all accounts?
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
✓
Use AWS Config rules to evaluate and auto-remediate non-compliant instances.
AWS Config with managed rules can evaluate RDS instances and enforce backup settings. Option A is wrong because CloudTrail only logs API calls for auditing, it does not enforce configuration. Option B is wrong because Service Control Policies (SCPs) restrict permissions at the organization level but cannot directly require backup retention on resources. Option C is wrong because IAM policies can control permissions to create instances but cannot enforce backup retention settings on existing instances; they can deny creation if certain conditions are not met, but that is not as comprehensive as AWS Config auto-remediation.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Use AWS CloudTrail to monitor backup settings and alert on non-compliance.
Why it's wrong here
CloudTrail is used for logging API calls, not for enforcing configuration settings.
- ✗
Apply a service control policy (SCP) that requires backup retention.
Why it's wrong here
Service Control Policies (SCPs) are applied at the AWS Organizations level and can restrict permissions, but they cannot enforce resource configuration like backup retention.
- ✗
Create an IAM policy that denies creating DB instances without backup retention.
Why it's wrong here
IAM policies can deny creation of DB instances without backup retention, but they do not remediate existing non-compliant instances and are not as effective as AWS Config rules.
- ✓
Use AWS Config rules to evaluate and auto-remediate non-compliant instances.
Why this is correct
AWS Config rules can evaluate RDS instances for backup retention and trigger auto-remediation to fix non-compliant resources.
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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.