DBS-C01 Monitoring and Troubleshooting Practice Question
A database administrator notices that the CPU utilization on an Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL instance is consistently above 90% during peak hours. Which CloudWatch metric should be checked first to identify the cause of the high CPU usage?
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
✓
DatabaseConnections
A high number of database connections can lead to increased CPU usage as each connection requires processing. Option B is wrong because NetworkThroughput measures network traffic, which is not a primary cause of high CPU. Option C is wrong because SwapUsage indicates memory pressure, not CPU. Option D is wrong because ReadIOPS measures disk I/O and may not directly cause high CPU.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
DatabaseConnections
Why this is correct
High connections can lead to high CPU from session management.
- ✗
NetworkThroughput
Why it's wrong here
NetworkThroughput is for network traffic, not CPU.
- ✗
SwapUsage
Why it's wrong here
SwapUsage indicates memory pressure, not CPU.
- ✗
ReadIOPS
Why it's wrong here
ReadIOPS impacts disk, not directly CPU.
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JA
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.