DBS-C01 Management and Operations Practice Question
This DBS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of management and operations. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 uses Amazon DynamoDB with On-Demand capacity for a gaming application. During a new game launch, write traffic spikes 10x normal for 30 minutes. Some write requests receive ProvisionedThroughputExceeded exceptions. What is the MOST likely cause and solution?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
The partition key is not distributing writes evenly, causing a hot partition. Redesign the partition key for uniform access.
Hot partitions cause throttling even with On-Demand capacity.
B
On-Demand capacity cannot handle sudden spikes. Switch to Provisioned capacity with auto scaling.
Why wrong: On-Demand is designed for spiky traffic.
C
DynamoDB Streams is enabled, causing additional write throttling. Disable streams.
Why wrong: Streams do not cause write throttling.
D
The table has a global secondary index with a different partition key that is unevenly accessed. Remove the GSI.
Why wrong: GSI writes consume from the table's write capacity, but uneven access can also cause throttling, but the root cause is still the primary partition key.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The partition key is not distributing writes evenly, causing a hot partition. Redesign the partition key for uniform access.
On-Demand capacity can handle spikes but has per-partition throughput limits. If a hot partition exists, writes to that partition may exceed its limit. Option A is correct because uneven partition keys cause throttling. Option B is incorrect because On-Demand does not have table-level limits. Option C is not the primary cause. Option D is incorrect as GSI writes also consume write capacity.
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.
✓
The partition key is not distributing writes evenly, causing a hot partition. Redesign the partition key for uniform access.
Why this is correct
Hot partitions cause throttling even with On-Demand capacity.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
On-Demand capacity cannot handle sudden spikes. Switch to Provisioned capacity with auto scaling.
Why it's wrong here
On-Demand is designed for spiky traffic.
✗
DynamoDB Streams is enabled, causing additional write throttling. Disable streams.
Why it's wrong here
Streams do not cause write throttling.
✗
The table has a global secondary index with a different partition key that is unevenly accessed. Remove the GSI.
Why it's wrong here
GSI writes consume from the table's write capacity, but uneven access can also cause throttling, but the root cause is still the primary partition key.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which DBS-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
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: The partition key is not distributing writes evenly, causing a hot partition. Redesign the partition key for uniform access. — On-Demand capacity can handle spikes but has per-partition throughput limits. If a hot partition exists, writes to that partition may exceed its limit. Option A is correct because uneven partition keys cause throttling. Option B is incorrect because On-Demand does not have table-level limits. Option C is not the primary cause. Option D is incorrect as GSI writes also consume write capacity.
What should I do if I get this DBS-C01 question wrong?
Identify which DBS-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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