- A
Create a read replica to offload write traffic to the replica and use it for failover.
Why wrong: Read replicas offload read traffic, not write traffic; write traffic still hits the primary instance, and latency remains.
- B
Upgrade the DB instance to a db.r5.16xlarge with more vCPUs and memory to handle higher write throughput.
Why wrong: The bottleneck is storage IOPS, not compute; a larger instance does not increase EBS performance and costs more.
- C
Enable Performance Insights to identify slow queries and add database-level caching to reduce write load.
Why wrong: Performance Insights helps with query tuning but does not address the underlying storage I/O limit; caching reduces read load, not write load.
- D
Modify the DB instance to increase the allocated storage to 1 TB using gp2, allowing the volume to operate with higher baseline IOPS and burst credits.
Increasing volume size boosts baseline IOPS and burst balance, resolving the bottleneck without changing instance type.
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 production Amazon RDS for MySQL Multi-AZ DB instance with 10 TB of storage. The application team notices that database write latency has increased from 5 ms to 80 ms over the past week. The DB instance is a db.r5.8xlarge with 500 GB of gp2 storage. CloudWatch metrics show WriteIOPS averaging 10,000, WriteThroughput at 50 MB/s, and BurstBalance decreasing from 100% to 20% over the same period. The DB instance has no reserved IOPS. The database workload is write-heavy with frequent small transactions. The company needs to resolve the high write latency while minimizing costs and downtime. Which solution should the database specialist recommend?
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 increase the allocated storage to 1 TB using gp2, allowing the volume to operate with higher baseline IOPS and burst credits.
Option D is correct because increasing gp2 storage from 500 GB to 1 TB raises the baseline IOPS from 1,500 (3 IOPS/GB) to 3,000, and also increases the burst credit pool size. With WriteIOPS averaging 10,000, the volume is depleting burst credits faster than they can be replenished, causing BurstBalance to drop to 20% and latency to spike. Doubling the storage provides a higher baseline and more credits, reducing reliance on burst and resolving the latency issue without changing instance class or adding cost for reserved IOPS.
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.
- ✗
Create a read replica to offload write traffic to the replica and use it for failover.
Why it's wrong here
Read replicas offload read traffic, not write traffic; write traffic still hits the primary instance, and latency remains.
- ✗
Upgrade the DB instance to a db.r5.16xlarge with more vCPUs and memory to handle higher write throughput.
Why it's wrong here
The bottleneck is storage IOPS, not compute; a larger instance does not increase EBS performance and costs more.
- ✗
Enable Performance Insights to identify slow queries and add database-level caching to reduce write load.
Why it's wrong here
Performance Insights helps with query tuning but does not address the underlying storage I/O limit; caching reduces read load, not write load.
- ✓
Modify the DB instance to increase the allocated storage to 1 TB using gp2, allowing the volume to operate with higher baseline IOPS and burst credits.
Why this is correct
Increasing volume size boosts baseline IOPS and burst balance, resolving the bottleneck without changing instance type.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
AWS often tests the misconception that increasing instance size (vCPUs/memory) resolves storage I/O bottlenecks, when in fact gp2 burst credit exhaustion is a storage-level issue that requires increasing volume size or switching to provisioned IOPS.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
gp2 volumes provide a baseline of 3 IOPS per GB and a burst credit pool of 5.4 million IOPS credits, which replenish at the baseline rate. With 500 GB, the baseline is 1,500 IOPS, but the workload requires 10,000 IOPS, so credits are consumed at 8,500 IOPS above baseline, depleting the pool in about 10.5 hours. Increasing storage to 1 TB raises baseline to 3,000 IOPS and doubles the credit pool to 10.8 million, allowing sustained bursts for longer periods and reducing latency. This is a cost-effective fix compared to migrating to io1 or io2 Block Express, which would incur higher per-GB costs.
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.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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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 increase the allocated storage to 1 TB using gp2, allowing the volume to operate with higher baseline IOPS and burst credits. — Option D is correct because increasing gp2 storage from 500 GB to 1 TB raises the baseline IOPS from 1,500 (3 IOPS/GB) to 3,000, and also increases the burst credit pool size. With WriteIOPS averaging 10,000, the volume is depleting burst credits faster than they can be replenished, causing BurstBalance to drop to 20% and latency to spike. Doubling the storage provides a higher baseline and more credits, reducing reliance on burst and resolving the latency issue without changing instance class or adding cost for reserved IOPS.
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.
About these practice questions
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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 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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