DBS-C01 Management and Operations Practice Question
A company uses Amazon DynamoDB with on-demand capacity for a gaming leaderboard. During a promotional event, write traffic spikes 10x, causing occasional 'ProvisionedThroughputExceededException' errors. The application retries with exponential backoff, but latency increases. The team notices that the 'ThrottledWriteRequests' metric spikes. What is the MOST cost-effective solution to handle these unpredictable spikes?
⚠ Common exam trap
The question contains an inconsistency: on-demand capacity is stated, but the error 'ProvisionedThroughputExceededException' is only relevant to provisioned capacity. Recognize that the best solution addresses the underlying provisioning model.
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
✓
Switch to provisioned capacity with auto scaling configured for the expected peak.
The scenario describes a DynamoDB table using on-demand capacity but experiencing 'ProvisionedThroughputExceededException', which is an error specific to provisioned capacity. This inconsistency suggests the table is actually using provisioned capacity. Therefore, the best solution is to switch to provisioned capacity with auto scaling properly configured to handle the peak traffic, ensuring cost-effectiveness by scaling only when needed. Option A is invalid because on-demand tables do not throw this error. Option B (DAX) addresses read latency, not write throttling. Option D (SQS) adds complexity and latency and is not the most cost-effective for unpredictable write spikes.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Continue using on-demand capacity but ensure the table has no throttling.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. On-demand capacity does not throw 'ProvisionedThroughputExceededException' because it scales automatically. This error indicates the table is provisioned, so continuing with on-demand would not resolve the inconsistency.
- ✗
Implement DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) to reduce read load.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) reduces read latency but does not help with write throttling or handling write spikes.
- ✓
Switch to provisioned capacity with auto scaling configured for the expected peak.
Why this is correct
Correct. Switching to provisioned capacity with auto scaling allows the table to scale based on actual traffic patterns, handling spikes cost-effectively without manual intervention. This directly addresses the throughput exception.
- ✗
Use an Amazon SQS queue to buffer write requests before DynamoDB.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Using an SQS queue adds latency and operational complexity. While it can buffer writes, it is not the most cost-effective solution compared to properly scaling the database.
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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.