DBS-C01 Monitoring and Troubleshooting Practice Question
A database specialist is troubleshooting an Amazon RDS for MySQL DB instance that is running out of storage. The instance has automated backups enabled. The specialist needs to free up storage space immediately without losing backup capability. Which action should the specialist take?
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
✓
Delete older automated backups that are no longer needed.
None of the provided options will free up DB instance storage. Automated backups are stored in Amazon S3, not in the instance's allocated storage. To free up instance storage, you would need to increase the allocated storage or delete actual data from the database. Reducing backup retention deletes backups from S3, not instance storage. Manual snapshots are also in S3. Disabling backups stops future backups but does not free existing storage.
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 reduce the backup retention period to 0 days.
Why it's wrong here
Reducing backup retention to 0 days will delete all automated backups from S3, but this does not free up DB instance storage. Additionally, it disables automated backups, losing backup capability.
- ✓
Delete older automated backups that are no longer needed.
Why this is correct
Deleting older automated backups also removes them from S3, not instance storage, so it does not help.
- ✗
Delete manual snapshots from the RDS console.
Why it's wrong here
Manual snapshots are stored in Amazon S3, not in the instance storage, so deleting them has no effect.
- ✗
Disable automated backups to stop storage consumption.
Why it's wrong here
Disabling automated backups stops future backups and may delete existing ones (from S3), but does not free instance storage.
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 |
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 1,663 original DBS-C01 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.