DBS-C01 Workload-Specific Database Design Practice Question
A company runs a MySQL database on Amazon RDS and wants to capture data changes to replicate to a separate reporting database. Which AWS service should be used to capture these changes with minimal impact on the source database?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse DynamoDB Streams (which is for NoSQL) with a general-purpose CDC service, or assume that native MySQL replication is the simplest approach without considering the managed, low-impact alternative that DMS provides for heterogeneous or cross-engine replication.
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 Database Migration Service (DMS) with ongoing replication enabled.
AWS DMS with ongoing replication (change data capture) is the correct choice because it reads the binary logs (binlog) from the source RDS MySQL instance to capture inserts, updates, and deletes with minimal overhead. DMS uses a dedicated replication instance and can apply changes to a separate reporting database without requiring schema changes or additional load from application-level polling. This approach is fully managed and designed for low-impact, continuous replication.
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 Amazon DynamoDB Streams to capture changes from the RDS instance.
Why it's wrong here
DynamoDB Streams only works with DynamoDB.
- ✗
Enable MySQL native replication from the RDS instance to the reporting database.
Why it's wrong here
RDS does not facilitate native replication to external MySQL instances.
- ✗
Use Amazon Kinesis Data Streams with a custom application to poll the binlog.
Why it's wrong here
While Amazon Kinesis Data Streams can ingest change data, a custom application polling the MySQL binary log (binlog) directly from RDS would place continuous read load on the source database instance, violating the requirement for minimal impact. This approach is tempting because Kinesis is a common choice for streaming database changes in other contexts, such as when using AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) with ongoing replication, which offloads binlog reading to a separate replication instance rather than the source.
- ✓
Use AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) with ongoing replication enabled.
Why this is correct
DMS can capture changes from RDS MySQL binlog with minimal impact.
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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.