DBS-C01 Workload-Specific Database Design Practice Question
A company runs an Oracle database on Amazon RDS. The database is used by multiple applications, and the company needs to capture all data modification language (DML) changes for auditing. Which solution should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse AWS CloudTrail (API auditing) with database-level DML auditing, or assume that Oracle-specific features like Flashback or Audit Vault are fully functional on RDS, when in fact RDS restricts OS and software installation, making DMS CDC the only viable managed solution.
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 DMS with change data capture (CDC) to stream changes to Amazon S3.
AWS DMS with change data capture (CDC) can continuously capture DML changes from an Oracle RDS instance and stream them to Amazon S3 in a format such as Parquet or CSV. This provides a durable, queryable audit trail of all data modifications without requiring additional Oracle licensing or impacting database performance. CloudTrail captures API-level events, not DML changes, and Oracle Flashback and Audit Vault are not fully supported or manageable on Amazon RDS.
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 AWS CloudTrail to capture database events.
Why it's wrong here
CloudTrail captures API calls, not DML.
- ✗
Enable Oracle Flashback and store the flashback logs.
Why it's wrong here
Flashback is for point-in-time recovery, not auditing.
- ✗
Install Oracle Audit Vault on the RDS instance.
Why it's wrong here
Audit Vault is not supported on RDS.
- ✓
Use AWS DMS with change data capture (CDC) to stream changes to Amazon S3.
Why this is correct
DMS CDC captures DML changes and can write to S3.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 1,663 original DBS-C01 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.