This DVA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of deployment. 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 deploying a web application on AWS Elastic Beanstalk. The application requires a relational database. The company wants to decouple the database lifecycle from the environment lifecycle. Which TWO steps should the company take to achieve this? (Choose TWO.)
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create an Amazon RDS DB instance outside of Elastic Beanstalk
Option B is correct because creating an Amazon RDS DB instance outside of Elastic Beanstalk decouples the database lifecycle from the environment lifecycle. This means the database can be retained, modified, or terminated independently of the Elastic Beanstalk environment, preventing data loss when the environment is terminated or recreated. The application can then connect to the external RDS instance via environment properties passed to the EC2 instances.
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.
✗
Use Amazon DynamoDB instead of Amazon RDS
Why it's wrong here
DynamoDB is NoSQL, not relational.
✓
Create an Amazon RDS DB instance outside of Elastic Beanstalk
Why this is correct
Separate lifecycle.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Add an Amazon RDS DB instance to the Elastic Beanstalk environment using the Elastic Beanstalk console
Why it's wrong here
This couples the DB lifecycle to the environment.
✓
Configure the Elastic Beanstalk environment to use environment properties to pass the DB connection string
Why this is correct
Allows the application to connect to the external DB.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Create a separate Elastic Beanstalk environment for the database
Why it's wrong here
Still couples DB to an environment.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often think adding an RDS instance via the Elastic Beanstalk console is the correct way to decouple the database, but it actually couples the database lifecycle to the environment, leading to potential data loss when the environment is terminated.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
When you create an RDS DB instance outside of Elastic Beanstalk, you can use environment properties (e.g., RDS_HOSTNAME, RDS_PORT, RDS_DB_NAME, RDS_USERNAME, RDS_PASSWORD) to pass the connection string to the application. Elastic Beanstalk automatically sets these properties if the DB instance is added via the console, but for external instances, you must manually configure them in the environment's software configuration. This approach is critical for production environments where database persistence is required across deployments and environment rebuilds.
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 cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Deployment — This question tests Deployment — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create an Amazon RDS DB instance outside of Elastic Beanstalk — Option B is correct because creating an Amazon RDS DB instance outside of Elastic Beanstalk decouples the database lifecycle from the environment lifecycle. This means the database can be retained, modified, or terminated independently of the Elastic Beanstalk environment, preventing data loss when the environment is terminated or recreated. The application can then connect to the external RDS instance via environment properties passed to the EC2 instances.
What should I do if I get this DVA-C02 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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Question Discussion
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