DBS-C01 Management and Operations Practice Question
A company uses Amazon DynamoDB with auto scaling enabled. During a flash sale, write traffic spikes and some requests receive ThrottlingException errors. The table's write capacity auto scaling reaches the maximum configured capacity but still throttles. Which TWO actions should resolve the throttling? (Choose TWO.)
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
✓
Increase the maximum write capacity setting for the auto scaling policy.
Increases the maximum write capacity setting, allowing the auto scaling policy to scale higher and handle the increased traffic. Option B addresses hot partitions by reviewing the partition key design to ensure even distribution of writes, which reduces throttling even if capacity is sufficient. Option C (DAX) is a caching layer for reads, not writes, so it does not resolve write throttling. Option D (DynamoDB Streams) captures changes but does not offload write traffic; it's a separate feature for streaming data. Option E (On-Demand mode) would help, but the question asks to resolve throttling with auto scaling enabled; On-Demand is an alternative, not a fix within auto scaling, but it's not the best choice given the context.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Increase the maximum write capacity setting for the auto scaling policy.
Why this is correct
Allows auto scaling to scale higher.
- ✓
Review the partition key design to ensure even access distribution.
Why this is correct
Even distribution prevents hot partitions.
- ✗
Add a DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) cluster to cache writes.
Why it's wrong here
DAX caches reads, not writes.
- ✗
Enable DynamoDB Streams to offload write traffic.
Why it's wrong here
Streams add overhead, not capacity.
- ✗
Disable auto scaling and use On-Demand capacity mode.
Why it's wrong here
On-Demand may also throttle on hot partitions.
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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.