DBS-C01 Monitoring and Troubleshooting Practice Question
A database administrator notices that an Amazon RDS for MySQL instance is using 100% of its allocated storage. Which action should be taken first to prevent the instance from becoming inaccessible?
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
✓
Modify the DB instance to increase allocated storage.
When an Amazon RDS for MySQL instance reaches 100% storage utilization, the most immediate action to prevent it from becoming inaccessible is to modify the DB instance to increase allocated storage. This adds storage capacity and allows normal operations to continue. Option B (snapshot and archive to S3) does not free up storage on the instance. Option C (deleting old binary logs) can free space but is not guaranteed to free enough and may not be a long-term solution; also, binary logs are needed for replication and point-in-time recovery. Option D (reboot) does not resolve the storage shortage.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Modify the DB instance to increase allocated storage.
Why this is correct
Correct. Increasing storage is a direct and safe way to prevent the instance from becoming inaccessible.
- ✗
Create a snapshot and archive it to Amazon S3.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Archiving does not free space on the instance.
- ✗
Delete old binary logs to free up space.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. While this frees space, it may be temporary and could affect replication.
- ✗
Reboot the DB instance.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Rebooting does not free storage space.
Visual reference
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.