DBS-C01 Monitoring and Troubleshooting Practice Question
A company runs a critical MySQL database on Amazon RDS Single-AZ (db.m5.large) with 200 GB of Provisioned IOPS (io1) storage set to 3000 IOPS. The application team reports that write operations are occasionally slow. CloudWatch metrics show that the Write IOPS metric peaks at 3500 IOPS during the slowdowns, but the average is 2000 IOPS. The Read IOPS average is 500 IOPS. The queue depth metric occasionally spikes to 20. The storage configuration includes a 50 GB General Purpose SSD (gp2) log volume attached to the same RDS instance. Which change will MOST effectively resolve the write latency?
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
✓
Increase the provisioned IOPS on the io1 volume to 4000.
The io1 volume is provisioned at 3000 IOPS, but the workload bursts to 3500 IOPS, causing queue depth to spike. Increasing the provisioned IOPS to 4000 ensures that the volume can handle the peak without queuing. Option A is incorrect because changing to gp3 with 3000 baseline IOPS does not address the peak IOPS requirement; gp3 can burst but the consistent peak above baseline may still cause throttling. Option B is incorrect because moving the log volume to the same io1 volume would mix I/O streams and could increase contention, not reduce it. Option D is incorrect because enabling Multi-AZ provides high availability and fails over to a standby, but does not increase IOPS capacity or resolve write latency.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Change the storage type to gp3 with 3000 baseline IOPS.
Why it's wrong here
gp3 baseline of 3000 IOPS matches current provisioned; peaks may still cause throttling unless additional IOPS are provisioned. However, gp3 can burst, but the consistent peaks suggest need for higher baseline.
- ✗
Move the log volume to the same io1 volume to reduce I/O overhead.
Why it's wrong here
The log volume is separate and does not affect data volume IOPS; combining may cause contention.
- ✓
Increase the provisioned IOPS on the io1 volume to 4000.
Why this is correct
Increasing provisioned IOPS to match peak demand (3500) gives headroom and reduces queue depth.
- ✗
Enable Multi-AZ for failover protection.
Why it's wrong here
Multi-AZ provides redundancy but does not increase I/O capacity; the primary still handles writes.
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Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on DBS-C01
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company has an Amazon RDS for SQL Server database that stores customer orders. The database is running on a db.m5.large instance. Recently, the DBA noticed that the 'Write IOPS' metric is consistently high during business hours, and the 'Write Latency' metric is also elevated. The application is experiencing slow order placement. The DBA checks the disk queue depth and finds it to be high. The database uses General Purpose SSD (gp2) storage with 500 GB. What should the DBA do to improve write performance?
medium- A.Enable Multi-AZ to offload writes to standby.
- B.Change the storage type to gp3 and increase the IOPS.
- C.Increase the storage size to 1000 GB to get more baseline IOPS.
- ✓ D.Migrate to Provisioned IOPS (io2) storage with appropriate IOPS.
Why D: Provisioned IOPS (io2) storage provides consistent, high IOPS performance with low latency, which is needed when the workload exceeds the baseline IOPS of gp2 storage. The current gp2 volume at 500 GB provides only 1,500 baseline IOPS (3 IOPS per GB), which is insufficient for the high write IOPS during business hours, causing high write latency and disk queue depth. Option A is incorrect because Multi-AZ does not offload writes; it only provides high availability and may increase write latency due to synchronous replication. Option B is incorrect because while gp3 offers baseline performance with the ability to provision additional IOPS independently of storage size, it is still a general-purpose SSD; for consistent low latency under sustained high IOPS, io2 is more suitable. Option C is incorrect because increasing gp2 storage to 1,000 GB would increase baseline IOPS to 3,000, but this may not be enough, and it is more cost-effective to use io2 with the required IOPS rather than over-provisioning storage.
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.