DBS-C01 Workload-Specific Database Design Practice Question
A company uses Amazon DynamoDB to store session data for a web application. The table has a partition key of 'SessionId'. The company wants to automatically expire sessions after 1 hour. Which feature should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse DynamoDB Streams (which only tracks changes) with a mechanism that can automatically expire data, or they may over-engineer a solution with Lambda scans instead of using the simpler, native TTL feature.
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
✓
DynamoDB Time to Live (TTL)
DynamoDB Time to Live (TTL) is the correct choice because it allows you to define a per-item timestamp attribute (e.g., 'expireAt') that automatically deletes items after a specified duration—in this case, 1 hour. TTL operates at no additional cost, requires no custom code, and handles expiration asynchronously in the background, making it ideal for session data management.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
DynamoDB Global Tables
Why it's wrong here
Global Tables replicate data, not expire.
- ✗
AWS Lambda function that scans the table every hour and deletes old items.
Why it's wrong here
Inefficient and costly.
- ✗
DynamoDB Streams
Why it's wrong here
Streams record changes, do not expire items.
- ✓
DynamoDB Time to Live (TTL)
Why this is correct
TTL automatically deletes expired items.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
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