The answer is to migrate to an io1 volume with 3000 provisioned IOPS, as this directly resolves the low IOPS queue depth causing read latency. A queue depth consistently above 4 on a gp2 volume signals that the instance is starving for IOPS—the requests are piling up because the 600 baseline IOPS cannot keep pace. By switching to Provisioned IOPS (io1), you guarantee a higher, consistent IOPS ceiling, which clears the queue and reduces latency. On the AWS Certified Database Specialty DBS-C01 exam, this scenario tests your understanding that gp2 IOPS scale with storage size (3 IOPS per GB), so a 200 GB volume only offers 600 IOPS; increasing storage alone won’t help if you need more than that. A common trap is confusing compute scaling (larger instance) with storage performance—CPU won’t fix an I/O bottleneck. Remember the memory tip: “Queue depth above four? IOPS needs to soar—go io1 for the floor.”
DBS-C01 Management and Operations Practice Question
This DBS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of management and operations. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 database administrator is troubleshooting a sudden increase in read latency on an Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL instance. The instance has 200 GB of General Purpose SSD (gp2) storage with 600 provisioned IOPS. The administrator notices that the average queue depth is consistently above 4. Which action is the MOST effective way to reduce read latency?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Migrate to an io1 volume with 3000 provisioned IOPS.
Option A increases IOPS by scaling up to an io1 volume, which directly addresses the queue depth issue and improves latency. Option B is incorrect because increasing instance size may not resolve IOPS bottleneck. Option C is incorrect because Multi-AZ does not improve read performance for a single instance. Option D is incorrect because increasing storage alone does not guarantee more IOPS for gp2.
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.
✗
Enable Multi-AZ deployment to offload reads to the standby.
Why it's wrong here
Multi-AZ does not offload reads; the standby is not accessible for reads.
✗
Change the instance type to a larger size with more vCPUs.
Why it's wrong here
Read latency is storage-bound, not compute-bound.
✓
Migrate to an io1 volume with 3000 provisioned IOPS.
Why this is correct
Increasing IOPS addresses the queue depth and reduces latency.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Increase the allocated storage to 500 GB without changing IOPS.
Why it's wrong here
Increasing gp2 storage increases baseline IOPS, but not as effectively as io1.
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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
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: Migrate to an io1 volume with 3000 provisioned IOPS. — Option A increases IOPS by scaling up to an io1 volume, which directly addresses the queue depth issue and improves latency. Option B is incorrect because increasing instance size may not resolve IOPS bottleneck. Option C is incorrect because Multi-AZ does not improve read performance for a single instance. Option D is incorrect because increasing storage alone does not guarantee more IOPS for gp2.
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.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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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.
Question Discussion
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