Question 426 of 1,663
DBS-C01 Workload-Specific Database Design Practice Question
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?
⚠ Common exam trap
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.
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 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.
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
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.
- ✗
Amazon Redshift
Why it's wrong here
Data warehouse, not transactional.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
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 →
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.
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.