DBS-C01 Management and Operations Practice Question
A company wants to encrypt an existing unencrypted Amazon RDS for SQL Server instance. What is the MOST efficient way to achieve this?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to assume you can simply modify an existing RDS instance to enable encryption (Option B), but AWS requires encryption to be set at creation time, so the snapshot-restore workflow is the only native way to convert an unencrypted instance to encrypted.
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
✓
Create a snapshot of the DB instance and copy it with encryption enabled. Restore the snapshot to a new encrypted instance.
You cannot directly enable encryption on an existing unencrypted RDS instance. The most efficient method is to take a snapshot of the instance, copy it with encryption enabled (which re-encrypts the data using AWS KMS), and then restore that snapshot to a new encrypted DB instance. This approach minimizes downtime and leverages native RDS snapshot capabilities without requiring external tools.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Create a read replica with encryption enabled.
Why it's wrong here
Read replicas inherit encryption setting.
- ✗
Modify the DB instance to enable encryption.
Why it's wrong here
Encryption cannot be enabled on existing instance.
- ✓
Create a snapshot of the DB instance and copy it with encryption enabled. Restore the snapshot to a new encrypted instance.
Why this is correct
This is the recommended approach.
- ✗
Use AWS DMS to migrate data to a new encrypted instance.
Why it's wrong here
DMS can be used but is less efficient than snapshot copy.
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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.