DBS-C01 Deployment and Migration Practice Question
A company wants to migrate a 10 GB PostgreSQL database from an on-premises server to Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL. The migration can tolerate several hours of downtime. Which migration method is the MOST straightforward?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates may over-engineer the solution by choosing AWS DMS with ongoing replication, assuming it is always the best migration tool, when the question explicitly states that several hours of downtime are acceptable, making the simpler native pg_dump/pg_restore approach the most straightforward.
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
✓
Use pg_dump to export the database and pg_restore to import into RDS
Pg_dump and pg_restore are native PostgreSQL utilities that provide a straightforward, reliable method for migrating a 10 GB database with acceptable downtime. The 10 GB size is well within the practical limits of a logical dump, and the process requires no additional AWS services or complex configuration, making it the simplest approach for a migration that can tolerate several hours of downtime.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Use AWS Database Migration Service (AWS DMS) with ongoing replication
Why it's wrong here
DMS is overkill for a migration that can tolerate hours of downtime.
- ✗
Use AWS Schema Conversion Tool (AWS SCT) to migrate the data
Why it's wrong here
AWS Schema Conversion Tool is designed for heterogeneous migrations, converting schema from one database engine to another, not for transferring data between identical PostgreSQL engines. It is tempting because it automates schema conversion for cross-engine migrations, such as Oracle to PostgreSQL, where manual rewriting would be complex. In this scenario, the source and target are both PostgreSQL, so a native dump-and-restore or pg_dump/pg_restore method directly handles the homogeneous transfer without SCT’s schema translation layer.
- ✗
Create an Amazon RDS Read Replica from the on-premises database
Why it's wrong here
Read Replicas cannot be created from on-premises databases.
- ✓
Use pg_dump to export the database and pg_restore to import into RDS
Why this is correct
This is the simplest method for a one-time migration with downtime tolerance.
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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.