- A
Increase the allocated storage to 1,000 GB to increase baseline IOPS to 3,000.
Why wrong: While this increases baseline IOPS, it is less cost-effective than gp3 and does not provide the ability to provision higher IOPS without additional storage.
- B
Modify the DB instance to use gp3 storage with provisioned IOPS of 5,000.
gp3 provides a baseline of 3,000 IOPS for any storage size and allows provisioning additional IOPS up to 16,000, independent of storage. This handles write spikes cost-effectively.
- C
Enable Performance Insights to identify the problematic queries and tune them.
Why wrong: Performance Insights is a monitoring tool, not a solution for IOPS spikes; it does not increase IOPS capacity.
- D
Add a read replica and redirect read traffic to it to reduce write contention.
Why wrong: Read replicas handle read traffic only; they do not reduce write load on the primary instance.
Quick Answer
The answer is to modify the DB instance to use gp3 storage with provisioned IOPS of 5,000. This is correct because gp3 storage decouples IOPS from storage size, offering a baseline of 3,000 IOPS regardless of volume capacity, and allows you to provision up to 16,000 IOPS independently—so setting 5,000 provisioned IOPS ensures the database can absorb write spikes without hitting a ceiling. On the AWS Certified Database Specialty DBS-C01 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how gp3’s burst-free architecture differs from gp2’s burst-bucket model, which can drain during sustained spikes and cause throttling. A common trap is choosing to increase the instance size or add a read replica, but those don’t address the root cause of IOPS exhaustion on the primary writer. Remember the key distinction: gp2 ties IOPS to storage size (3 IOPS per GB), while gp3 gives you a baseline of 3,000 IOPS plus independent provisioning—think “gp3 gives you three thousand for free, then you pay to pump it up.”
DBS-C01 Management and Operations Practice Question
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 runs a critical e-commerce application on Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL with a db.r5.2xlarge instance and 500 GB of gp2 storage. The application experiences periodic write spikes during flash sales. During these events, the WriteIOPS metric exceeds the provisioned baseline IOPS of 1,500, and the database becomes unresponsive for several seconds. The DBA has configured a CloudWatch alarm on WriteIOPS, but the alarm triggers after the performance issue occurs. The company needs to ensure that the database can handle these spikes without downtime. The budget allows for moderate cost increases. What should the DBA do?
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
Modify the DB instance to use gp3 storage with provisioned IOPS of 5,000.
Option B is correct because gp3 storage provides a baseline of 3,000 IOPS regardless of storage size, and allows provisioning up to 16,000 IOPS independently. By setting provisioned IOPS to 5,000, the database can handle write spikes without exceeding the IOPS limit, preventing unresponsiveness. This solution fits the moderate cost increase budget, as gp3 is typically 20% cheaper than gp2 for equivalent performance.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Increase the allocated storage to 1,000 GB to increase baseline IOPS to 3,000.
Why it's wrong here
While this increases baseline IOPS, it is less cost-effective than gp3 and does not provide the ability to provision higher IOPS without additional storage.
- ✓
Modify the DB instance to use gp3 storage with provisioned IOPS of 5,000.
Why this is correct
gp3 provides a baseline of 3,000 IOPS for any storage size and allows provisioning additional IOPS up to 16,000, independent of storage. This handles write spikes cost-effectively.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Enable Performance Insights to identify the problematic queries and tune them.
Why it's wrong here
Performance Insights is a monitoring tool, not a solution for IOPS spikes; it does not increase IOPS capacity.
- ✗
Add a read replica and redirect read traffic to it to reduce write contention.
Why it's wrong here
Read replicas handle read traffic only; they do not reduce write load on the primary instance.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates assume increasing gp2 storage (Option A) is the only way to raise baseline IOPS, overlooking gp3's ability to provision higher IOPS independently without massive storage growth.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
gp2 storage uses a burst bucket model where baseline IOPS is 3 per GB, and burst credits accumulate up to 5.4 million IOPS (for 500 GB, burst IOPS is 3,000). During flash sales, the bucket depletes quickly, causing throttling. gp3 decouples IOPS from storage size, offering a consistent 3,000 baseline and up to 16,000 provisioned IOPS, with no burst bucket to exhaust. In real-world scenarios, gp3 is ideal for spiky workloads because it eliminates the credit-based performance variability of gp2.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this DBS-C01 question test?
Management and Operations — This question tests Management and Operations — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Modify the DB instance to use gp3 storage with provisioned IOPS of 5,000. — Option B is correct because gp3 storage provides a baseline of 3,000 IOPS regardless of storage size, and allows provisioning up to 16,000 IOPS independently. By setting provisioned IOPS to 5,000, the database can handle write spikes without exceeding the IOPS limit, preventing unresponsiveness. This solution fits the moderate cost increase budget, as gp3 is typically 20% cheaper than gp2 for equivalent performance.
What should I do if I get this DBS-C01 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 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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