- A
Deploy a Single-AZ instance with a read replica.
Why wrong: Read replicas require manual promotion for failover.
- B
Deploy a Multi-AZ instance.
Multi-AZ provides automatic failover.
- C
Deploy a Single-AZ instance and take frequent snapshots.
Why wrong: Snapshots do not provide failover.
- D
Deploy a Single-AZ instance with a cross-region read replica.
Why wrong: Cross-region replicas are for disaster recovery, not automatic failover.
Question 402 of 1,730
DBS-C01 Deployment and Migration Practice Question
This DBS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of deployment and migration. 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 developer is configuring an RDS for PostgreSQL instance for a new application. The application requires automatic failover to a standby instance in a different Availability Zone. Which deployment option should be selected?
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
✓
Deploy a Multi-AZ instance.
Multi-AZ deployment for RDS PostgreSQL automatically provisions and maintains a synchronous standby replica in a different Availability Zone. In the event of a failure or Availability Zone outage, Amazon RDS automatically fails over to the standby, providing high availability without manual intervention. This meets the requirement for automatic failover to a standby instance in a different AZ.
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.
- ✗
Deploy a Single-AZ instance with a read replica.
Why it's wrong here
Read replicas require manual promotion for failover.
- ✓
Deploy a Multi-AZ instance.
Why this is correct
Multi-AZ provides automatic failover.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Deploy a Single-AZ instance and take frequent snapshots.
Why it's wrong here
Snapshots do not provide failover.
- ✗
Deploy a Single-AZ instance with a cross-region read replica.
Why it's wrong here
Cross-region replicas are for disaster recovery, not automatic failover.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse read replicas (asynchronous, manual promotion) with Multi-AZ (synchronous, automatic failover), assuming any secondary instance provides automatic failover.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Multi-AZ RDS uses synchronous replication to the standby instance in a different AZ, ensuring zero data loss during failover (as long as the primary is reachable). The failover is handled by Amazon RDS updating the DNS record to point to the standby, typically completing within 1-2 minutes. Under the hood, the standby is a fully provisioned DB instance that is kept in sync via PostgreSQL's streaming replication, but the Multi-AZ feature manages the replication and failover automatically, unlike a manual read replica setup.
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
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this DBS-C01 question test?
Deployment and Migration — This question tests Deployment and Migration — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Deploy a Multi-AZ instance. — Multi-AZ deployment for RDS PostgreSQL automatically provisions and maintains a synchronous standby replica in a different Availability Zone. In the event of a failure or Availability Zone outage, Amazon RDS automatically fails over to the standby, providing high availability without manual intervention. This meets the requirement for automatic failover to a standby instance in a different AZ.
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
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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