This DBS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of workload-specific database design. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 media company is storing large video files (up to 10 GB each) in Amazon S3 and needs to maintain metadata about each file, including title, duration, and upload timestamp. The workload involves frequent writes (1000+ per second) and occasional read queries by title. Which database is best suited for this metadata store?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Amazon Neptune
Why wrong: Neptune is designed for graph relationships, not simple metadata storage.
Amazon RDS for MySQL
Why wrong: RDS may struggle with 1000+ writes per second without extensive scaling.
Amazon DynamoDB
DynamoDB supports high write throughput and fast queries by partition key.
Amazon ElastiCache for Memcached
Why wrong: ElastiCache is a cache, not a durable database.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Amazon DynamoDB
Amazon DynamoDB is the best choice because it supports single-digit millisecond latency at any scale, handles over 1000 writes per second with auto-scaling, and can efficiently serve occasional read queries by title using a global secondary index (GSI) on the title attribute. Its fully managed, serverless nature eliminates operational overhead for high-throughput metadata storage.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Amazon Neptune
Why it's wrong here
Neptune is designed for graph relationships, not simple metadata storage.
Amazon RDS for MySQL
Why it's wrong here
RDS may struggle with 1000+ writes per second without extensive scaling.
Amazon DynamoDB
Why this is correct
DynamoDB supports high write throughput and fast queries by partition key.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Amazon ElastiCache for Memcached
Why it's wrong here
ElastiCache is a cache, not a durable database.
Common exam traps
AWS often tests the misconception that a relational database (RDS) is always the default for metadata, but the high write throughput and simple query pattern here make DynamoDB the correct choice, not RDS.
Detailed technical explanation
DynamoDB's write sharding uses consistent hashing across partitions, each handling up to 1000 write capacity units (WCU) per second, so 1000+ writes/sec can be absorbed by a single partition or scaled horizontally. A GSI on the 'title' attribute allows efficient querying without scanning, and DynamoDB's adaptive capacity automatically adjusts partition splits under high traffic, preventing throttling. In practice, a media company might use DynamoDB Streams to trigger AWS Lambda for post-processing metadata updates, ensuring eventual consistency for read queries.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
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FAQ
Workload-Specific Database Design — This question tests Workload-Specific Database Design — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Amazon DynamoDB — Amazon DynamoDB is the best choice because it supports single-digit millisecond latency at any scale, handles over 1000 writes per second with auto-scaling, and can efficiently serve occasional read queries by title using a global secondary index (GSI) on the title attribute. Its fully managed, serverless nature eliminates operational overhead for high-throughput metadata storage.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
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.
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