The answer is to increase the provisioned IOPS on the io1 volume to 4000. This is correct because the write latency is caused by hitting the IOPS ceiling: the volume is provisioned for 3000 IOPS, but write IOPS peaks at 3500, forcing requests into a queue and spiking queue depth to 20. By raising the provisioned IOPS to 4000, you eliminate the bottleneck and allow the workload to handle its peak write IOPS without queuing, directly resolving the high write latency. On the AWS Certified Database Specialty DBS-C01 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how RDS storage performance relates to IOPS limits and queue depth—a common trap is confusing Multi-AZ or storage type changes with actual IOPS capacity. Remember the memory tip: “Peak IOPS must match provisioned IOPS, or queue depth will spike.”
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 company runs a critical MySQL database on Amazon RDS Single-AZ (db.m5.large) with 200 GB of Provisioned IOPS (io1) storage set to 3000 IOPS. The application team reports that write operations are occasionally slow. CloudWatch metrics show that the Write IOPS metric peaks at 3500 IOPS during the slowdowns, but the average is 2000 IOPS. The Read IOPS average is 500 IOPS. The queue depth metric occasionally spikes to 20. The storage configuration includes a 50 GB General Purpose SSD (gp2) log volume attached to the same RDS instance. Which change will MOST effectively resolve the write latency?
Change the storage type to gp3 with 3000 baseline IOPS.
Why wrong: gp3 baseline of 3000 IOPS matches current provisioned; peaks may still cause throttling unless additional IOPS are provisioned. However, gp3 can burst, but the consistent peaks suggest need for higher baseline.
B
Move the log volume to the same io1 volume to reduce I/O overhead.
Why wrong: The log volume is separate and does not affect data volume IOPS; combining may cause contention.
C
Increase the provisioned IOPS on the io1 volume to 4000.
Increasing provisioned IOPS to match peak demand (3500) gives headroom and reduces queue depth.
D
Enable Multi-AZ for failover protection.
Why wrong: Multi-AZ provides redundancy but does not increase I/O capacity; the primary still handles writes.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Increase the provisioned IOPS on the io1 volume to 4000.
Option C is correct because the io1 volume is provisioned at 3000 IOPS, but the workload bursts to 3500 IOPS, causing queue depth to spike. Increasing the provisioned IOPS to 4000 ensures that the volume can handle the peak without queuing. Option A is incorrect because enabling Multi-AZ provides high availability but does not increase IOPS capacity. Option B is incorrect because moving to gp3 does not guarantee better performance; gp3 baseline is 3000 IOPS (same as current provisioned) but can burst to higher, but the issue is consistent peaks. However, the most direct fix is to increase io1 provisioned IOPS. Option D is incorrect because the log volume is separate and not the source of write IOPS contention.
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.
✗
Change the storage type to gp3 with 3000 baseline IOPS.
Why it's wrong here
gp3 baseline of 3000 IOPS matches current provisioned; peaks may still cause throttling unless additional IOPS are provisioned. However, gp3 can burst, but the consistent peaks suggest need for higher baseline.
✗
Move the log volume to the same io1 volume to reduce I/O overhead.
Why it's wrong here
The log volume is separate and does not affect data volume IOPS; combining may cause contention.
✓
Increase the provisioned IOPS on the io1 volume to 4000.
Why this is correct
Increasing provisioned IOPS to match peak demand (3500) gives headroom and reduces queue depth.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Enable Multi-AZ for failover protection.
Why it's wrong here
Multi-AZ provides redundancy but does not increase I/O capacity; the primary still handles writes.
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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
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.
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: Increase the provisioned IOPS on the io1 volume to 4000. — Option C is correct because the io1 volume is provisioned at 3000 IOPS, but the workload bursts to 3500 IOPS, causing queue depth to spike. Increasing the provisioned IOPS to 4000 ensures that the volume can handle the peak without queuing. Option A is incorrect because enabling Multi-AZ provides high availability but does not increase IOPS capacity. Option B is incorrect because moving to gp3 does not guarantee better performance; gp3 baseline is 3000 IOPS (same as current provisioned) but can burst to higher, but the issue is consistent peaks. However, the most direct fix is to increase io1 provisioned IOPS. Option D is incorrect because the log volume is separate and not the source of write IOPS contention.
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.
About these practice questions
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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 company has an Amazon RDS for SQL Server database that stores customer orders. The database is running on a db.m5.large instance. Recently, the DBA noticed that the 'Write IOPS' metric is consistently high during business hours, and the 'Write Latency' metric is also elevated. The application is experiencing slow order placement. The DBA checks the disk queue depth and finds it to be high. The database uses General Purpose SSD (gp2) storage with 500 GB. What should the DBA do to improve write performance?
medium
A.Enable Multi-AZ to offload writes to standby.
B.Change the storage type to gp3 and increase the IOPS.
C.Increase the storage size to 1000 GB to get more baseline IOPS.
✓ D.Migrate to Provisioned IOPS (io2) storage with appropriate IOPS.
Why D: Option C is correct because Provisioned IOPS (io2) provides consistent low latency. Option A is wrong because gp3 may not provide enough IOPS for the workload. Option B is wrong because increasing storage size increases baseline IOPS for gp2, but 500 GB already gives 1500 IOPS; more IOPS may be needed. Option D is wrong because Multi-AZ does not improve write performance; it may increase latency.
Last reviewed: Jun 20, 2026
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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.
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