The answer is Amazon CloudWatch Logs and RDS Performance Insights. Performance Insights provides a real-time database dashboard that visualizes database load and identifies specific slow-running queries by their SQL text and wait events, making it the primary tool for query-level monitoring. CloudWatch Logs complements this by capturing and storing the MariaDB slow query log when you enable the `slow_query_log` parameter in your RDS parameter group, allowing you to search and analyze historical query patterns. On the AWS Certified Database Specialty DBS-C01 exam, this question tests your ability to distinguish between monitoring services: Enhanced Monitoring gives OS-level metrics like CPU and memory, not query details, while CloudTrail and AWS Config are irrelevant to query performance. A common trap is selecting Enhanced Monitoring because it sounds performance-related, but it lacks query visibility. Memory tip: “Performance Insights sees the queries; CloudWatch Logs keeps the logs.”
DBS-C01 Management and Operations Practice Question
This DBS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of management and operations. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 using Amazon RDS for MariaDB. The database administrator wants to monitor the database for slow queries. Which TWO services can be used to achieve this? (Choose TWO.)
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Amazon RDS Performance Insights
RDS Performance Insights provides a dashboard for database performance and can identify slow queries. RDS Enhanced Monitoring provides OS-level metrics but not query-specific. CloudWatch Logs can capture slow query logs if enabled. CloudTrail logs API calls. AWS Config tracks configuration.
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.
✓
Amazon RDS Performance Insights
Why this is correct
Performance Insights helps identify and analyze slow queries.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
AWS Config
Why it's wrong here
Config tracks resource configuration, not database performance.
✓
Amazon CloudWatch Logs
Why this is correct
Slow query logs can be published to CloudWatch Logs for monitoring.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Amazon RDS Enhanced Monitoring
Why it's wrong here
Enhanced Monitoring provides OS metrics, not slow query analysis.
✗
AWS CloudTrail
Why it's wrong here
CloudTrail logs API calls, not database queries.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→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 DBS-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Management and Operations — This question tests Management and Operations — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Amazon RDS Performance Insights — RDS Performance Insights provides a dashboard for database performance and can identify slow queries. RDS Enhanced Monitoring provides OS-level metrics but not query-specific. CloudWatch Logs can capture slow query logs if enabled. CloudTrail logs API calls. AWS Config tracks configuration.
What should I do if I get this DBS-C01 question wrong?
Identify which DBS-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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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
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