DBS-C01 Management and Operations Practice Question
A database administrator needs to retain backups of an Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL DB instance for 7 years to meet compliance requirements. The automated backup retention period is limited to 35 days. Which solution should be used?
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 manual snapshots at regular intervals and retain them for 7 years.
Manual snapshots are retained indefinitely until deleted. Automated backups have a max retention of 35 days. Exporting to S3 is an option but not directly a backup retention method; you can export snapshots to S3, but manual snapshots are the standard way to retain backups long-term. EC2 instance backups are not applicable.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Export the automated backups to Amazon S3 and apply an S3 lifecycle policy.
Why it's wrong here
Automated backups cannot be directly exported; you can export snapshots, but manual snapshots are the primary method.
- ✓
Create manual snapshots at regular intervals and retain them for 7 years.
Why this is correct
Manual snapshots are retained until deleted, suitable for long-term retention.
- ✗
Increase the automated backup retention period to 7 years.
Why it's wrong here
Automated backup retention max is 35 days.
- ✗
Use an AWS Lambda function to copy automated backups to an EC2 instance.
Why it's wrong here
This is not a supported or efficient method.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
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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.