- A
Disable journaling to reduce I/O overhead
Why wrong: Disabling journaling risks data loss and is not recommended.
- B
Create appropriate indexes on fields used in $lookup and $group
Indexes improve aggregation performance significantly.
- C
Enable TLS for all connections
Why wrong: TLS adds overhead but is required for security; not a performance optimization.
- D
Use parallel scan operations where possible
DocumentDB supports parallel scans to improve throughput.
- E
Choose a larger instance size to accommodate the workload
More memory and CPU help aggregation pipelines.
Question 1,612 of 1,730
DBS-C01 Workload-Specific Database Design Practice Question
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 company is migrating an on-premises MongoDB workload to Amazon DocumentDB. The workload includes aggregation pipelines with $lookup and $group operations. The team wants to ensure minimal performance impact. Which THREE steps should they take?
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
✓
Create appropriate indexes on fields used in $lookup and $group
Option B is correct because creating appropriate indexes on fields used in $lookup (local and foreign fields) and $group (the _id field and any sort fields) allows Amazon DocumentDB to avoid full collection scans, significantly reducing query latency and resource consumption during aggregation pipeline execution.
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.
- ✗
Disable journaling to reduce I/O overhead
Why it's wrong here
Disabling journaling risks data loss and is not recommended.
- ✓
Create appropriate indexes on fields used in $lookup and $group
Why this is correct
Indexes improve aggregation performance significantly.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Enable TLS for all connections
Why it's wrong here
TLS adds overhead but is required for security; not a performance optimization.
- ✓
Use parallel scan operations where possible
Why this is correct
DocumentDB supports parallel scans to improve throughput.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Choose a larger instance size to accommodate the workload
Why this is correct
More memory and CPU help aggregation pipelines.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may confuse security measures (TLS) or storage settings (journaling) with performance optimization, when in fact the correct performance levers are indexing, instance sizing, and parallel execution.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Amazon DocumentDB implements MongoDB 3.6+ aggregation pipeline semantics, where $lookup performs a left outer join by scanning the foreign collection unless an index on the foreign field exists. For $group, an index on the grouping key (the _id expression) allows the pipeline to use an index scan rather than an in-memory hash or sort-based group, which is critical for large datasets. Choosing a larger instance size (Option E) provides more memory and CPU to handle the working set and parallel execution, while parallel scan operations (Option D) can distribute the workload across multiple threads when the pipeline supports it.
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 cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
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.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this DBS-C01 question test?
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: Create appropriate indexes on fields used in $lookup and $group — Option B is correct because creating appropriate indexes on fields used in $lookup (local and foreign fields) and $group (the _id field and any sort fields) allows Amazon DocumentDB to avoid full collection scans, significantly reducing query latency and resource consumption during aggregation pipeline execution.
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.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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