The answer is to deploy a global cluster with a primary region and secondary regions for read workloads, combined with read replicas in each region. A global cluster in Amazon DocumentDB provides multi-region replication, ensuring high availability by automatically failing over to a secondary region if the primary fails, while also enabling low-latency reads by routing read traffic to the closest regional endpoint. On the AWS Certified Database Specialty DBS-C01 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of DocumentDB’s native global cluster feature versus manual replication or sharding, which is not supported. A common trap is assuming that a single instance per region offers high availability, but that lacks redundancy within the region. Remember the memory tip: “Global for failover, replicas for scale”—the global cluster handles cross-region disaster recovery, while read replicas boost local read throughput.
DBS-C01 Workload-Specific Database Design Practice Question
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 company is designing a document database for a content management system using Amazon DocumentDB. The application requires high availability and low-latency reads across multiple AWS Regions. Which TWO design choices meet these requirements?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Configure read replicas in each region to offload read traffic.
Option A (global cluster) provides multi-region replication with low-latency reads. Option D (read replicas) enhances read capacity. Option B is wrong because one instance per region doesn't provide high availability. Option C is wrong because sharding is not native in DocumentDB. Option E is wrong because local secondary indexes don't help cross-region.
Key principle: NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✓
Configure read replicas in each region to offload read traffic.
Why this is correct
Read replicas provide additional read capacity with low latency.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
✗
Use a single instance in each region with Multi-AZ disabled.
Why it's wrong here
Single instance lacks high availability within a region.
✗
Use local secondary indexes to improve query performance in each region.
Why it's wrong here
Local secondary indexes are within a region, not affecting cross-region reads.
✓
Deploy a global cluster with a primary region and secondary regions for read workloads.
Why this is correct
Global clusters replicate data across regions and support local reads.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
✗
Shard the data across multiple clusters in different regions.
Why it's wrong here
DocumentDB does not natively support sharding.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
→Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
→Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
→Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
Key takeaway
NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
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
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related DBS-C01 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Workload-Specific Database Design — This question tests Workload-Specific Database Design — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Configure read replicas in each region to offload read traffic. — Option A (global cluster) provides multi-region replication with low-latency reads. Option D (read replicas) enhances read capacity. Option B is wrong because one instance per region doesn't provide high availability. Option C is wrong because sharding is not native in DocumentDB. Option E is wrong because local secondary indexes don't help cross-region.
What should I do if I get this DBS-C01 question wrong?
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related DBS-C01 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
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Question Discussion
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