The correct answer is to use Amazon RDS for MySQL with a read replica for reporting, and set up a Lambda function to export partitions older than 1 year to Amazon S3 in Parquet format, queryable via Amazon Athena. This design directly addresses the need for RDS MySQL data archiving for compliance by offloading read traffic to the read replica, which keeps the primary transactional table lean and prevents performance degradation. The Lambda function automates the archival process, moving cold data to S3 where Parquet’s columnar format reduces storage costs and enables efficient querying through Athena, satisfying the seven-year retention requirement without sacrificing queryability. On the AWS Certified Database Specialty DBS-C01 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of hybrid storage architectures that balance performance, cost, and compliance; a common trap is choosing a simple backup-to-S3 solution, which fails the “queryable” requirement. Remember the mnemonic “R3AP” (Read replica, Lambda, S3, Athena, Parquet) to recall the key components for a compliant, queryable archive.
DBS-C01 Workload-Specific Database Design Practice Question
This DBS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of workload-specific database design. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A financial services company runs a critical application on Amazon RDS for MySQL. The database stores transaction data that must be retained for 7 years for regulatory compliance. The current retention policy stores all data in the same table, causing performance degradation on the main transactional table. The company needs to archive data older than 1 year while keeping it queryable. Which design should they implement?
Migrate to Amazon Redshift and use workload management to prioritize transactions.
Why wrong: Redshift is not designed for transactional workloads.
B
Use Amazon ElastiCache for Redis to cache recent data and move old data to S3.
Why wrong: Not durable for primary storage; data loss risk.
C
Use Amazon RDS for MySQL with a read replica for reporting, and set up a Lambda function to export partitions older than 1 year to Amazon S3 in Parquet format, queryable via Amazon Athena.
Preserves relational structure for recent data, archives to S3 for cost-effective storage, and allows querying via Athena.
D
Migrate to Amazon DynamoDB with TTL to automatically expire old data.
Why wrong: DynamoDB TTL deletes data, does not archive it; also not relational.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use Amazon RDS for MySQL with a read replica for reporting, and set up a Lambda function to export partitions older than 1 year to Amazon S3 in Parquet format, queryable via Amazon Athena.
Option C is correct because it uses RDS for MySQL read replicas to offload reporting traffic, while a Lambda function archives partitions older than 1 year to Amazon S3 in Parquet format. This keeps the main transactional table lean, improves performance, and retains data for 7 years in a cost-effective, queryable format via Amazon Athena, meeting both compliance and queryability requirements.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Migrate to Amazon Redshift and use workload management to prioritize transactions.
Why it's wrong here
Redshift is not designed for transactional workloads.
✗
Use Amazon ElastiCache for Redis to cache recent data and move old data to S3.
Why it's wrong here
Not durable for primary storage; data loss risk.
✓
Use Amazon RDS for MySQL with a read replica for reporting, and set up a Lambda function to export partitions older than 1 year to Amazon S3 in Parquet format, queryable via Amazon Athena.
Why this is correct
Preserves relational structure for recent data, archives to S3 for cost-effective storage, and allows querying via Athena.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Migrate to Amazon DynamoDB with TTL to automatically expire old data.
Why it's wrong here
DynamoDB TTL deletes data, does not archive it; also not relational.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may think DynamoDB TTL is suitable for archiving, but TTL only deletes data, not retains it, and they may overlook the need for a queryable archive solution like Athena on S3.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Partitioning in MySQL allows efficient data management by splitting large tables into smaller, manageable segments; exporting partitions older than 1 year to Parquet in S3 leverages columnar storage for compression and fast querying via Athena's Presto engine. The Lambda function can be triggered on a schedule (e.g., via CloudWatch Events) to automate the export process, and the read replica ensures no performance impact on the primary instance during the archival operation.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Workload-Specific Database Design — This question tests Workload-Specific Database Design — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use Amazon RDS for MySQL with a read replica for reporting, and set up a Lambda function to export partitions older than 1 year to Amazon S3 in Parquet format, queryable via Amazon Athena. — Option C is correct because it uses RDS for MySQL read replicas to offload reporting traffic, while a Lambda function archives partitions older than 1 year to Amazon S3 in Parquet format. This keeps the main transactional table lean, improves performance, and retains data for 7 years in a cost-effective, queryable format via Amazon Athena, meeting both compliance and queryability requirements.
What should I do if I get this DBS-C01 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. An e-commerce application stores order data in Amazon RDS for MySQL. The database has grown to 1.5 TB and the company needs to retain data for 7 years for compliance. Current queries are becoming slow due to the large table size. The compliance requirement mandates that data older than 1 year must be retained but is rarely accessed. What strategy would reduce the active table size while maintaining compliance?
hard
A.Create a read replica and run reports against it.
✓ B.Partition the table by date and archive partitions older than 1 year to Amazon S3 using AWS DMS.
C.Delete data older than 1 year and use automated backups for compliance.
D.Vertically partition the table to separate frequently and infrequently accessed columns.
Why B: Option C is correct because partitioning the table by date and archiving old partitions to a separate table or S3 meets compliance and reduces active table size. Option A is wrong because vertical partitioning (splitting columns) doesn't address the row count issue. Option B is wrong because read replicas do not reduce storage size. Option D is wrong because deleting data violates compliance.
Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.