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 startup needs a fully managed, serverless database for a new web application with unpredictable traffic. The application requires ACID transactions and SQL queries. Which AWS database service should they use?
Amazon Neptune
Why wrong: Graph database, not SQL.
Amazon DynamoDB
Why wrong: NoSQL, not fully ACID for SQL.
Amazon Aurora Serverless v2
Serverless, auto-scaling, MySQL/PostgreSQL compatible, ACID.
Amazon Redshift
Why wrong: Data warehouse, not transactional.
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 Aurora Serverless v2
Amazon Aurora Serverless v2 is the correct choice because it provides a fully managed, serverless relational database that automatically scales capacity based on application demand, supports ACID transactions, and uses standard SQL queries. It is ideal for unpredictable traffic patterns as it can scale from zero to hundreds of thousands of transactions per minute without manual intervention.
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
Graph database, not SQL.
Amazon DynamoDB
Why it's wrong here
NoSQL, not fully ACID for SQL.
Amazon Aurora Serverless v2
Why this is correct
Serverless, auto-scaling, MySQL/PostgreSQL compatible, ACID.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Amazon Redshift
Why it's wrong here
Data warehouse, not transactional.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse DynamoDB's 'transactions' feature (which supports ACID-like semantics only within a single AWS account and region) with full ACID compliance across multiple items, or they mistakenly think Neptune or Redshift can handle OLTP SQL workloads, when in fact they are specialized for graph and analytics respectively.
Detailed technical explanation
Aurora Serverless v2 uses a distributed, shared-storage architecture where compute and storage are decoupled, allowing it to scale capacity in sub-second increments from 0.5 to 128 ACUs (Aurora Capacity Units). It supports the MySQL and PostgreSQL wire protocols, enabling standard SQL and ACID compliance via InnoDB or PostgreSQL's MVCC engine, and automatically pauses after a period of inactivity to reduce costs, resuming instantly on new requests.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
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 Aurora Serverless v2 — Amazon Aurora Serverless v2 is the correct choice because it provides a fully managed, serverless relational database that automatically scales capacity based on application demand, supports ACID transactions, and uses standard SQL queries. It is ideal for unpredictable traffic patterns as it can scale from zero to hundreds of thousands of transactions per minute without manual intervention.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 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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