DBS-C01 Workload-Specific Database Design Practice Question
A financial services company is migrating an on-premises Oracle database to AWS. The database supports an OLTP application with complex joins, stored procedures, and requires high availability within a single Region. The company wants to minimize licensing costs and use a fully managed service. Which AWS database service should they choose?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers choose Amazon RDS for Oracle (Option B) because it supports Oracle features directly, overlooking the explicit requirement to minimize licensing costs and the fact that Aurora PostgreSQL can handle complex joins and stored procedures without Oracle licensing fees.
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
✓
Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL-Compatible Edition
Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL-Compatible Edition is the correct choice because it is a fully managed, high-availability database service that supports complex joins, stored procedures, and OLTP workloads while minimizing licensing costs. Aurora provides built-in replication across three Availability Zones, automatic failover, and up to 15 read replicas, meeting the high availability requirement without the licensing overhead of commercial databases like Oracle.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Amazon DynamoDB
Why it's wrong here
DynamoDB is NoSQL and does not support complex joins or stored procedures.
- ✗
Amazon RDS for Oracle
Why it's wrong here
RDS Oracle would still require Oracle licensing, increasing costs.
- ✗
AWS Database Migration Service (DMS)
Why it's wrong here
DMS is a migration service, not a database.
- ✓
Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL-Compatible Edition
Why this is correct
Aurora PostgreSQL is fully managed, supports complex joins and stored procedures, and provides high availability with Multi-AZ.
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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.