- A
Amazon ElastiCache for Redis
Why wrong: Amazon ElastiCache for Redis is an in-memory cache, not a persistent primary database. It does not provide strong consistency across multiple regions and is unsuitable as the primary datastore for a global e-commerce application.
- B
Amazon Aurora Global Database
Amazon Aurora Global Database is the best choice. It offers low-latency reads across regions through read replicas and maintains strong consistency for writes and reads in the primary region, meeting the application's requirements.
- C
Amazon Neptune
Why wrong: Amazon Neptune is a graph database optimized for connected data like social networks or fraud detection, not for general e-commerce workloads. It does not provide single-digit millisecond latency at scale for typical e-commerce operations.
- D
Amazon DynamoDB with global tables
Why wrong: Amazon DynamoDB global tables provide single-digit millisecond read latency and multi-region replication, but cross-region reads are eventually consistent, not strongly consistent. Therefore, it does not satisfy the strong consistency requirement globally.
DBS-C01 Amazon Aurora Global Database 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. A key principle to apply: amazon Aurora Global Database. 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 database for a global e-commerce application with millions of users. The workload requires single-digit millisecond read latency, high availability across multiple AWS Regions, and strong consistency. Which database service should the company use?
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 Global Database
Amazon Aurora Global Database is designed for global applications requiring high availability and low-latency reads across multiple AWS Regions. While it uses eventual consistency for reads from secondary regions, it provides strong consistency within the primary region, which is the only region where writes are accepted. For a global e-commerce application that demands strong consistency, the best practice is to route all writes to the primary region and use the primary endpoint for strongly consistent reads. Although cross-region reads are eventually consistent, Aurora Global Database offers the best balance of low latency, high availability, and strong consistency for the primary region, making it the most suitable option among the choices. In contrast, Amazon DynamoDB global tables provide only eventual consistency across regions, Amazon ElastiCache is a cache (not a primary database), and Amazon Neptune is a graph database not optimized for e-commerce workloads.
Key principle: Amazon Aurora Global Database
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 ElastiCache for Redis
Why it's wrong here
Amazon ElastiCache for Redis is an in-memory cache, not a persistent primary database. It does not provide strong consistency across multiple regions and is unsuitable as the primary datastore for a global e-commerce application.
- ✓
Amazon Aurora Global Database
Why this is correct
Amazon Aurora Global Database is the best choice. It offers low-latency reads across regions through read replicas and maintains strong consistency for writes and reads in the primary region, meeting the application's requirements.
Related concept
Amazon Aurora Global Database
- ✗
Amazon Neptune
Why it's wrong here
Amazon Neptune is a graph database optimized for connected data like social networks or fraud detection, not for general e-commerce workloads. It does not provide single-digit millisecond latency at scale for typical e-commerce operations.
- ✗
Amazon DynamoDB with global tables
Why it's wrong here
Amazon DynamoDB global tables provide single-digit millisecond read latency and multi-region replication, but cross-region reads are eventually consistent, not strongly consistent. Therefore, it does not satisfy the strong consistency requirement globally.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Candidates often assume that Amazon DynamoDB global tables provide strong consistency across regions, but they actually use eventual consistency for cross-region replication. Alternatively, Amazon Aurora Global Database can meet strong consistency requirements by limiting writes to a single primary region and using strongly consistent reads within that region.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
DynamoDB global tables use a multi-leader replication protocol based on the DynamoDB Streams and a last-writer-wins (LWW) conflict resolution mechanism, which ensures that writes are eventually propagated to all regions. To achieve strong consistency, the application must use the ConsistentRead parameter set to true, which reads from the leader in the local region; however, this may incur a slight latency penalty if the leader is not local, but DynamoDB’s distributed architecture typically keeps reads under 10 ms. In practice, for a global e-commerce app, you would design the read path to use strongly consistent reads only for critical operations (e.g., inventory checks) and eventually consistent reads for less sensitive data to balance performance.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Amazon Aurora Global Database
- Strong consistency
- Eventual consistency
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
Amazon Aurora Global Database
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 amazon Aurora Global Database, then practise related DBS-C01 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
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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 — Amazon Aurora Global Database.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Amazon Aurora Global Database — Amazon Aurora Global Database is designed for global applications requiring high availability and low-latency reads across multiple AWS Regions. While it uses eventual consistency for reads from secondary regions, it provides strong consistency within the primary region, which is the only region where writes are accepted. For a global e-commerce application that demands strong consistency, the best practice is to route all writes to the primary region and use the primary endpoint for strongly consistent reads. Although cross-region reads are eventually consistent, Aurora Global Database offers the best balance of low latency, high availability, and strong consistency for the primary region, making it the most suitable option among the choices. In contrast, Amazon DynamoDB global tables provide only eventual consistency across regions, Amazon ElastiCache is a cache (not a primary database), and Amazon Neptune is a graph database not optimized for e-commerce workloads.
What should I do if I get this DBS-C01 question wrong?
Review amazon Aurora Global Database, then practise related DBS-C01 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Amazon Aurora Global Database
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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