- A
Export the on-premises database with TDE certificates and import them into RDS.
Why wrong: RDS does not allow importing custom TDE certificates; it manages its own.
- B
Take a native backup of the on-premises database with TDE, upload to S3, and restore to RDS.
Why wrong: RDS does not support restoring native backups with TDE from on-premises.
- C
Use AWS SCT to convert the database to Amazon Aurora and enable encryption.
Why wrong: Aurora does not support TDE in the same way; it uses AWS KMS encryption.
- D
Use AWS DMS with ongoing replication to an RDS instance that has TDE enabled.
DMS can migrate data to an RDS instance with TDE enabled, and the data will be encrypted at rest.
Question 95 of 1,730
DBS-C01 Deployment and Migration Practice Question
This DBS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of deployment and migration. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 migrating a 1 TB Microsoft SQL Server database from on-premises to Amazon RDS for SQL Server. The on-premises database uses TDE for encryption. The company must ensure that the migrated database in RDS also uses TDE. Which solution meets this requirement?
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 AWS DMS with ongoing replication to an RDS instance that has TDE enabled.
Option D is correct because AWS DMS can migrate data from an on-premises SQL Server database with TDE enabled to an Amazon RDS for SQL Server instance that has TDE enabled. DMS reads the decrypted data from the source (since TDE is transparent to applications) and writes it to the target, which can then encrypt the data at rest using RDS's built-in TDE support. This approach avoids the need to transfer TDE certificates or perform a native backup/restore, which are not supported for TDE-enabled databases in RDS.
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.
- ✗
Export the on-premises database with TDE certificates and import them into RDS.
Why it's wrong here
RDS does not allow importing custom TDE certificates; it manages its own.
- ✗
Take a native backup of the on-premises database with TDE, upload to S3, and restore to RDS.
Why it's wrong here
RDS does not support restoring native backups with TDE from on-premises.
- ✗
Use AWS SCT to convert the database to Amazon Aurora and enable encryption.
Why it's wrong here
Aurora does not support TDE in the same way; it uses AWS KMS encryption.
- ✓
Use AWS DMS with ongoing replication to an RDS instance that has TDE enabled.
Why this is correct
DMS can migrate data to an RDS instance with TDE enabled, and the data will be encrypted at rest.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates assume native backup/restore (Option B) is the simplest approach for TDE databases, but they overlook that RDS does not support restoring TDE-encrypted backups because the required certificates cannot be imported, making DMS the only viable migration path for preserving encryption at rest.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
TDE in SQL Server encrypts data at the page level using a database encryption key (DEK) protected by a certificate stored in the master database. When using DMS, the source database decrypts pages transparently during reads, so DMS captures the plaintext data and transfers it to the target RDS instance, where RDS's native TDE (using AWS KMS) re-encrypts the data at rest. This works because DMS operates at the logical level (table rows), not the physical page level, bypassing the encryption layer entirely.
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 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.
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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: Use AWS DMS with ongoing replication to an RDS instance that has TDE enabled. — Option D is correct because AWS DMS can migrate data from an on-premises SQL Server database with TDE enabled to an Amazon RDS for SQL Server instance that has TDE enabled. DMS reads the decrypted data from the source (since TDE is transparent to applications) and writes it to the target, which can then encrypt the data at rest using RDS's built-in TDE support. This approach avoids the need to transfer TDE certificates or perform a native backup/restore, which are not supported for TDE-enabled databases in RDS.
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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