- A
Use DynamoDB Time to Live (TTL) to automatically delete old data after a certain period
TTL removes items without consuming WCU and reduces storage costs.
- B
Store historical data in Amazon S3 and query with Amazon Athena
Athena can query S3 data efficiently, offloading old data from DynamoDB.
- C
Increase DynamoDB read capacity units to improve query performance
Why wrong: This increases cost and does not optimize storage.
- D
Archive old data to Amazon S3 Glacier using AWS Lambda and DynamoDB Streams
Archiving to Glacier is cost-effective for rarely accessed data.
- E
Decrease DynamoDB write capacity units to reduce cost
Why wrong: Decreasing WCU may cause write throttling; not a strategy for storage optimization.
Question 167 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 runs a time-series application on Amazon DynamoDB. The data has a pattern of frequent writes for recent data and rare reads for older data. They want to optimize storage costs and query performance for the time-series data. Which THREE strategies should they implement? (Choose THREE.)
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
✓
Use DynamoDB Time to Live (TTL) to automatically delete old data after a certain period
Option A is correct because DynamoDB Time to Live (TTL) automatically expires and deletes old items after a defined timestamp, reducing storage costs without manual intervention. This is ideal for time-series data where older records are rarely accessed, as TTL offloads the deletion process to DynamoDB in the background, freeing up provisioned throughput.
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.
- ✓
Use DynamoDB Time to Live (TTL) to automatically delete old data after a certain period
Why this is correct
TTL removes items without consuming WCU and reduces storage costs.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Store historical data in Amazon S3 and query with Amazon Athena
Why this is correct
Athena can query S3 data efficiently, offloading old data from DynamoDB.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Increase DynamoDB read capacity units to improve query performance
Why it's wrong here
This increases cost and does not optimize storage.
- ✓
Archive old data to Amazon S3 Glacier using AWS Lambda and DynamoDB Streams
Why this is correct
Archiving to Glacier is cost-effective for rarely accessed data.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Decrease DynamoDB write capacity units to reduce cost
Why it's wrong here
Decreasing WCU may cause write throttling; not a strategy for storage optimization.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may confuse increasing read capacity (Option C) as a performance fix for older data, but the question specifically targets cost optimization and query performance for rarely accessed historical data, where offloading to S3 and using TTL are the correct strategies.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
DynamoDB TTL works by checking the 'ttl' attribute on items; once the epoch time is reached, the item is marked for deletion within 48 hours, reducing storage gradually. For archival, DynamoDB Streams captures item-level changes (e.g., old images) in near real-time, which can trigger an AWS Lambda function to write data to Amazon S3 Glacier for long-term, low-cost storage, while Athena allows querying the S3 data using standard SQL without reloading into DynamoDB.
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 startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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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: Use DynamoDB Time to Live (TTL) to automatically delete old data after a certain period — Option A is correct because DynamoDB Time to Live (TTL) automatically expires and deletes old items after a defined timestamp, reducing storage costs without manual intervention. This is ideal for time-series data where older records are rarely accessed, as TTL offloads the deletion process to DynamoDB in the background, freeing up provisioned throughput.
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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