DBS-C01 Workload-Specific Database Design Practice Question
A company runs a critical Oracle database on Amazon RDS. The database has a large table that is frequently accessed by multiple applications. The team wants to implement caching to reduce the load on the database. The cached data must be strongly consistent with the database. Which caching strategy should they use?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse 'read-only cache' or 'lazy loading' with strong consistency, not realizing that only write-through synchronously updates the cache on every write, making it the only option that guarantees the cached data is always identical to the database.
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
✓
Write-through cache using Amazon ElastiCache
The write-through cache strategy ensures that every write to the database also updates the cache synchronously, so the cached data is always strongly consistent with the database. This is critical for the Oracle RDS workload where multiple applications require immediate consistency. Amazon ElastiCache (Redis or Memcached) supports write-through by updating the cache on every write operation, preventing stale reads.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Eventual consistency with DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX)
Why it's wrong here
DAX is for DynamoDB, not Oracle RDS.
- ✗
Read-only cache with Amazon ElastiCache
Why it's wrong here
Read-only cache does not address write load consistency.
- ✓
Write-through cache using Amazon ElastiCache
Why this is correct
Write-through ensures data is written to cache and DB together, maintaining strong consistency.
- ✗
Lazy loading with cache-aside pattern
Why it's wrong here
Lazy loading may serve stale data until the cache is updated.
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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.