DBS-C01 Deployment and Migration Practice Question
A company needs to migrate a 100 GB on-premises SQL Server database to Amazon RDS for SQL Server. The migration must be completed within a 4-hour maintenance window. The network link has 500 Mbps throughput. Which approach should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates overestimate the time required for network transfer and assume Snowball is necessary for any database over a few gigabytes, ignoring that a 500 Mbps link can transfer 100 GB in under 30 minutes, well within the 4-hour window.
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 native SQL Server backup to S3, then restore to RDS
Native SQL Server backup to S3 and restore to RDS is the fastest method for a 100 GB database over a 500 Mbps link. At 500 Mbps, the theoretical transfer time for 100 GB is approximately 28 minutes (100 GB * 8 / 500 Mbps), well within the 4-hour window, making Snowball unnecessary. This approach avoids the overhead of change data capture (CDC) and additional compute resources, directly leveraging SQL Server's native backup/restore capabilities.
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 DMS with full load and CDC
Why it's wrong here
DMS may add overhead and is not necessary for a one-time migration.
- ✓
Use native SQL Server backup to S3, then restore to RDS
Why this is correct
This method can be fast and fits within the maintenance window with 500 Mbps.
- ✗
Use AWS Snowball Edge to transfer the backup
Why it's wrong here
Snowball would take days including shipping, exceeding the 4-hour window.
- ✗
Launch an EC2 instance with SQL Server, copy the database, and then migrate to RDS
Why it's wrong here
This adds unnecessary complexity and time.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
Go deeper
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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.