DBS-C01 Workload-Specific Database Design Practice Question
A startup is building a social media application that requires storing user profiles, posts, comments, and likes. The workload has variable traffic, with spikes after marketing campaigns. The team expects to run complex JOIN queries to generate a user's feed. Which AWS database service is MOST suitable for this relational workload?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently choose DynamoDB for its scalability and low latency, overlooking that complex JOINs are not supported in NoSQL databases, making RDS PostgreSQL the correct choice for relational workloads requiring SQL JOIN operations.
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 RDS for PostgreSQL
Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL is the most suitable choice because the workload requires complex JOIN queries on relational data (user profiles, posts, comments, likes). PostgreSQL provides full SQL support, ACID compliance, and robust indexing capabilities (e.g., B-tree, GiST, GIN) that efficiently handle multi-table joins. RDS also offers managed scaling, automated backups, and read replicas to accommodate traffic spikes after marketing campaigns.
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 Neptune
Why it's wrong here
Neptune is a graph database, not suited for typical relational queries.
- ✓
Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL
Why this is correct
RDS PostgreSQL offers full relational capabilities and managed scaling.
- ✗
Amazon DynamoDB with global secondary indexes
Why it's wrong here
DynamoDB cannot perform JOINs; application-level joins would be complex and slow.
- ✗
Amazon ElastiCache for Redis
Why it's wrong here
ElastiCache is a cache, not a durable database for primary data.
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