DBS-C01 Deployment and Migration Practice Question
A company wants to migrate a 2 TB PostgreSQL database from on-premises to Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL. The database has high write throughput and the migration must have minimal impact on source performance. Which solution is MOST appropriate?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently assume AWS DMS is always the best choice for minimal-impact migrations, but for PostgreSQL-to-Aurora migrations, native logical replication via pglogical is more efficient and less intrusive on high-write-throughput sources.
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 pglogical to set up logical replication from the source to Aurora.
Pglogical is a PostgreSQL extension that provides logical replication with minimal overhead on the source, making it ideal for high-write-throughput databases. It allows selective table replication and does not require physical changes to the source, thus avoiding performance impact. AWS DMS (Option B) can also perform ongoing replication but introduces additional overhead and complexity, and it is not as tightly integrated with PostgreSQL's native replication mechanisms as pglogical.
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 of the on-premises database and promote it to Aurora.
Why it's wrong here
Creating a read replica requires additional setup and still impacts the source.
- ✗
Use AWS DMS with ongoing replication from the source to Aurora.
Why it's wrong here
DMS can cause overhead on the source due to continuous change capture.
- ✓
Use pglogical to set up logical replication from the source to Aurora.
Why this is correct
pglogical provides logical replication with minimal overhead on the source.
- ✗
Set up native PostgreSQL streaming replication from on-premises to Aurora.
Why it's wrong here
Streaming replication requires the source to be a primary and can impact performance.
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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.