The correct solution is to create a cross-Region read replica in the secondary Region and promote it during failover. This meets the 15-minute RTO and 1-minute RPO because a read replica maintains near-synchronous replication from the primary RDS for PostgreSQL instance, minimizing data loss, and promotion to a standalone primary takes only minutes. On the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional DOP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of disaster recovery trade-offs: Multi-AZ only protects against zone failures within a single region, while manual snapshots or automated backups introduce unacceptable lag for a 1-minute RPO. A common trap is confusing cross-Region read replicas with Multi-AZ deployments—remember that Multi-AZ is regional, not cross-Region. Memory tip: “Replica for recovery, Multi-AZ for availability.”
DOP-C02 Resilient Cloud Solutions Practice Question
This DOP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of resilient cloud solutions. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 designing a disaster recovery strategy for its primary RDS for PostgreSQL database in us-east-1. The RTO is 15 minutes and RPO is 1 minute. Which solution meets these requirements?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "primary"
Why it matters: Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create a cross-Region read replica in the secondary Region and promote it during failover.
Option C is correct because a cross-Region read replica can be promoted to a primary instance quickly, meeting both RTO and RPO. Option A is wrong because manual snapshots have a higher RPO. Option B is wrong because Multi-AZ is only within a region. Option D is wrong because automated backups alone do not enable cross-Region failover.
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.
✓
Create a cross-Region read replica in the secondary Region and promote it during failover.
Why this is correct
Cross-Region read replicas can be promoted quickly, achieving low RTO/RPO.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "primary" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use AWS Backup to copy automated backups to the secondary Region every hour.
Why it's wrong here
Hourly backups yield RPO of up to 1 hour, exceeding the requirement.
✗
Deploy a Multi-AZ RDS instance and failover to the standby in the same region.
Why it's wrong here
Multi-AZ is single-region only, not cross-Region DR.
✗
Take manual snapshots of the database every 5 minutes and copy them to the secondary Region.
Why it's wrong here
Manual snapshots every 5 minutes exceed RPO and RTO due to copy time.
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 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 DOP-C02 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.
Resilient Cloud Solutions — This question tests Resilient Cloud Solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create a cross-Region read replica in the secondary Region and promote it during failover. — Option C is correct because a cross-Region read replica can be promoted to a primary instance quickly, meeting both RTO and RPO. Option A is wrong because manual snapshots have a higher RPO. Option B is wrong because Multi-AZ is only within a region. Option D is wrong because automated backups alone do not enable cross-Region failover.
What should I do if I get this DOP-C02 question wrong?
Identify which DOP-C02 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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "primary". Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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 is designing a disaster recovery plan for an RDS PostgreSQL database. They have a cross-region read replica. Which THREE steps should they take to ensure a successful failover?
medium
A.Enable automated backups on the replica before promotion
✓ B.Configure applications to use the new database endpoint
✓ C.Update Route 53 DNS record to point to the new master
✓ D.Promote the read replica to a standalone database instance
E.Enable Multi-AZ on the read replica before promotion
Why B: Promoting the read replica makes it a standalone master. Updating Route 53 DNS to point to the new master ensures traffic routing. Ensuring applications can connect to the new endpoint is critical. Option D is wrong because automated backups are separate. Option E is wrong because read replica does not have Multi-AZ by default, but can be enabled after promotion.
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This DOP-C02 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 DOP-C02 exam.
Question Discussion
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