DBS-C01 Workload-Specific Database Design Practice Question
Which TWO are best practices for designing a DynamoDB table for high-traffic e-commerce application? (Select TWO.)
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates think a monotonically increasing partition key (like a timestamp) is acceptable for time-series data, but in DynamoDB it creates a hot partition, whereas in other databases it might be fine; AWS tests your understanding of DynamoDB's partitioning model and the importance of high-cardinality, evenly distributed partition keys.
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
✓
Create Global Secondary Indexes to support different access patterns.
Global Secondary Indexes (GSIs) allow you to support multiple query patterns without duplicating data or redesigning the base table. In a high-traffic e-commerce application, you might need to query orders by customer ID, by status, or by date; GSIs provide alternative access patterns with their own partition and sort keys, enabling efficient queries without full table scans.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Create Global Secondary Indexes to support different access patterns.
Why this is correct
GSIs allow querying on non-key attributes.
- ✗
Use a constantly increasing value (e.g., timestamp) as the partition key.
Why it's wrong here
Constantly increasing partition key causes hot partitions.
- ✗
Design the table to use scan operations for most queries.
Why it's wrong here
Scans are expensive and slow; use queries.
- ✓
Use a composite primary key (partition key and sort key) to organize data.
Why this is correct
Composite key enables efficient querying and sorting.
- ✗
Use a single attribute as the partition key with low cardinality.
Why it's wrong here
Low cardinality leads to hot partitions.
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