- A
Enable Enhanced Monitoring and review OS process list.
Why wrong: Enhanced Monitoring shows OS-level metrics like memory and disk I/O, but not query-level CPU usage.
- B
Review the slow query log to identify long-running queries.
Slow query logs can reveal queries that consume significant CPU resources.
- C
Scale up the DB instance to a larger instance class.
Why wrong: Scaling up addresses symptoms but does not identify the root cause; it may also increase costs unnecessarily.
- D
Enable Performance Insights and review the top SQL queries.
Performance Insights provides query-level performance data to pinpoint high-CPU queries.
- E
Install pg_stat_statements extension and query it.
Why wrong: pg_stat_statements requires prior installation and is not available by default; Performance Insights is easier to enable and provides similar information.
Quick Answer
The correct combination is to enable Performance Insights and review the slow query log. Performance Insights provides a visual dashboard that breaks down database load by wait events and top SQL, directly pinpointing which queries are consuming the most CPU resources, while the slow query log captures long-running statements that often drive sustained high CPU usage on RDS for PostgreSQL. On the AWS Certified Database Specialty DBS-C01 exam, this scenario tests your ability to differentiate between monitoring tools: Enhanced Monitoring gives OS-level metrics, but Performance Insights is purpose-built for query-level root cause analysis of high CPU. A common trap is choosing Enhanced Monitoring alone, which shows CPU usage but not the offending queries. Remember the mnemonic “P.I. for SQL” — Performance Insights identifies the SQL culprits, and the slow query log confirms the duration.
DBS-C01 Monitoring and Troubleshooting Practice Question
This DBS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of monitoring and troubleshooting. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 database engineer is troubleshooting high CPU usage on an Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL instance. Amazon CloudWatch shows CPU Utilization consistently above 90% during business hours. Which combination of actions should the engineer take to identify the root cause? (Choose TWO.)
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
Review the slow query log to identify long-running queries.
Option B is correct because reviewing the slow query log directly identifies long-running queries that can cause sustained high CPU usage on RDS for PostgreSQL. Option D is correct because Performance Insights provides a visual dashboard of database load and top SQL queries, making it easy to pinpoint which queries are consuming the most CPU resources.
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.
- ✗
Enable Enhanced Monitoring and review OS process list.
Why it's wrong here
Enhanced Monitoring shows OS-level metrics like memory and disk I/O, but not query-level CPU usage.
- ✓
Review the slow query log to identify long-running queries.
Why this is correct
Slow query logs can reveal queries that consume significant CPU resources.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Scale up the DB instance to a larger instance class.
Why it's wrong here
Scaling up addresses symptoms but does not identify the root cause; it may also increase costs unnecessarily.
- ✓
Enable Performance Insights and review the top SQL queries.
Why this is correct
Performance Insights provides query-level performance data to pinpoint high-CPU queries.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Install pg_stat_statements extension and query it.
Why it's wrong here
pg_stat_statements requires prior installation and is not available by default; Performance Insights is easier to enable and provides similar information.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often choose Option E (pg_stat_statements) thinking it is the only way to get query-level details, but Performance Insights (Option D) provides the same data with less effort and is the recommended AWS-native approach for this scenario.
Trap categories for this question
Similar concept trap
pg_stat_statements requires prior installation and is not available by default; Performance Insights is easier to enable and provides similar information.
Command / output trap
Enhanced Monitoring shows OS-level metrics like memory and disk I/O, but not query-level CPU usage.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Performance Insights uses a built-in PostgreSQL extension (pg_stat_statements) under the hood to collect query metrics, but it presents them in a managed, easy-to-analyze dashboard with a database load chart (Average Active Sessions). The slow query log captures queries exceeding a configurable threshold (e.g., log_min_duration_statement), which is critical for identifying queries that run for seconds or minutes, often correlating with CPU spikes. In real-world scenarios, a single missing index or a suboptimal join can cause a query to consume 100% of a vCPU, and these tools help pinpoint that query without guesswork.
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
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
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this DBS-C01 question test?
Monitoring and Troubleshooting — This question tests Monitoring and Troubleshooting — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Review the slow query log to identify long-running queries. — Option B is correct because reviewing the slow query log directly identifies long-running queries that can cause sustained high CPU usage on RDS for PostgreSQL. Option D is correct because Performance Insights provides a visual dashboard of database load and top SQL queries, making it easy to pinpoint which queries are consuming the most CPU resources.
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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Same concept, more angles
2 more ways this is tested on DBS-C01
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A database specialist is monitoring an Amazon RDS for MySQL instance and notices that the 'CPUUtilization' metric is consistently above 90%. Which TWO actions should the specialist take to investigate the issue? (Select TWO.)
medium- A.Disable the MySQL query cache to free up CPU.
- ✓ B.Use Performance Insights to identify the queries that are consuming the most CPU.
- C.Increase the instance class to provide more CPU resources.
- D.Enable Multi-AZ to distribute the load to a standby instance.
- ✓ E.Enable Enhanced Monitoring to get OS-level metrics for the RDS instance.
Why B: Option A is correct because Performance Insights can identify high-load queries. Option B is correct because Enhanced Monitoring provides OS-level metrics like CPU, memory, and disk I/O. Option C is wrong because increasing instance class is a solution, not an investigation step. Option D is wrong because enabling Multi-AZ does not help investigate CPU usage. Option E is wrong because disabling query cache is not a diagnostic action.
Variation 2. A database specialist is troubleshooting an Amazon RDS for SQL Server instance that is experiencing high CPU utilization. The instance has multiple databases. Which TWO actions should the specialist take to identify the cause?
medium- A.Create a read replica to offload read traffic
- ✓ B.Use Performance Insights to identify top SQL queries
- C.Increase the instance size to handle the load
- D.Modify the DB instance class to a burstable type
- ✓ E.Enable Enhanced Monitoring to view OS-level metrics
Why B: Options B and D are correct because they directly identify top CPU queries and resource-intensive databases. Option A is wrong because increasing CPU doesn't diagnose. Option C is wrong because read replicas don't help with CPU. Option E is wrong because instance class change is a fix, not diagnosis.
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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.
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