The answer is to create a cross-Region read replica of the RDS MySQL database in us-west-2, enable automated AMI backups of the EC2 instances every 15 minutes, and pre-stage the infrastructure in the secondary Region. This combination meets the 15-minute RPO because the RDS read replica provides near-synchronous replication with minimal data loss, while the 15-minute AMI snapshots capture EC2 volume changes within that window. For the 1-hour RTO, pre-staging the network, security groups, and Auto Scaling groups in us-west-2 allows rapid failover by promoting the read replica to a standalone database and launching EC2 instances from the latest AMI. On the AWS DevOps Engineer Professional exam, this scenario tests your ability to balance cost and complexity against strict recovery objectives—a common trap is assuming multi-AZ alone suffices for cross-Region DR, but it only covers within-Region failover. Remember the mnemonic: “Read replicas for RDS, AMIs for EC2, and pre-stage to save the day.”
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 plan for a critical application with an RPO of 15 minutes and RTO of 1 hour. The application runs on EC2 instances with an RDS MySQL database. The primary Region is us-east-1. Which THREE actions should they take to meet the RPO and RTO? (Choose three.)
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
✓
Schedule automated AMI backups of EC2 instances every 15 minutes
Option A is correct because automated AMI backups of EC2 instances every 15 minutes align with the 15-minute RPO by capturing incremental snapshots of the instance volumes. These AMIs can be used to launch replacement EC2 instances in the secondary Region within the 1-hour RTO, provided the infrastructure is pre-staged. The frequency of 15 minutes ensures that data loss is limited to at most 15 minutes of changes.
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.
✓
Schedule automated AMI backups of EC2 instances every 15 minutes
Why this is correct
Quick recovery of EC2 instances.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "primary" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Launch EC2 instances in a single Availability Zone in the secondary Region to reduce costs
Why it's wrong here
Single AZ is not fault-tolerant.
✓
Configure Route 53 health checks and DNS failover to the secondary Region
Why this is correct
Automates traffic redirection.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "primary" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Create a cross-Region read replica of the RDS MySQL database in us-west-2
Why this is correct
Provides near real-time replication for 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 CloudFormation StackSets to deploy identical infrastructure in the secondary Region
Why it's wrong here
Infrastructure deployment does not replicate data.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse infrastructure-as-code deployment (CloudFormation StackSets) with actual data replication, mistakenly believing that deploying identical infrastructure alone satisfies the RPO, when in fact continuous database replication is required to meet the 15-minute RPO.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Cross-Region read replicas for RDS MySQL use asynchronous replication based on the MySQL binary log (binlog), which typically provides a replication lag of seconds to a few minutes, easily meeting a 15-minute RPO. Route 53 DNS failover with health checks monitors the primary Region's endpoints and automatically updates DNS records to point to the secondary Region when a failure is detected, enabling failover within the RTO. Automated AMI backups every 15 minutes use Amazon EBS snapshots, which are incremental and stored in Amazon S3, allowing rapid restoration of EC2 instances in the secondary Region.
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 startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
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.
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: Schedule automated AMI backups of EC2 instances every 15 minutes — Option A is correct because automated AMI backups of EC2 instances every 15 minutes align with the 15-minute RPO by capturing incremental snapshots of the instance volumes. These AMIs can be used to launch replacement EC2 instances in the secondary Region within the 1-hour RTO, provided the infrastructure is pre-staged. The frequency of 15 minutes ensures that data loss is limited to at most 15 minutes of changes.
What should I do if I get this DOP-C02 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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 a critical application that uses Amazon RDS for MySQL with Multi-AZ. The RPO must be less than 1 minute and RTO less than 15 minutes. The primary Region is us-east-1. Which THREE steps should the company take to meet these requirements?
hard
A.Take manual snapshots of the RDS instance every 30 seconds and copy them to the secondary Region
B.Enable Multi-AZ in the primary Region
✓ C.Create a cross-Region read replica of the RDS instance in the secondary Region
✓ D.Create an AWS Lambda function to promote the read replica to primary in the secondary Region during a disaster
✓ E.Enable automated backups with cross-Region copy enabled to the secondary Region
Why C: B, C, and E are correct. Cross-Region read replica provides near-real-time replication (low RPO) and can be promoted quickly (low RTO). Automated backups are replicated to another Region and can be restored, but RTO may exceed 15 minutes. Option A is wrong because manual snapshots cannot achieve <1 minute RPO. Option D is wrong because Multi-AZ protects within a Region only.
Variation 2. A company is designing a disaster recovery (DR) strategy for a critical application that runs on EC2 instances with an RDS database. The DR site must be in a different AWS Region. The Recovery Point Objective (RPO) is 15 minutes, and Recovery Time Objective (RTO) is 1 hour. Which TWO actions should the company take to meet these objectives? (Choose TWO.)
medium
A.Use AWS Backup to copy EC2 AMIs and RDS snapshots to the DR region every 15 minutes.
B.Use AWS CloudFormation to pre-provision resources in the DR region manually.
✓ C.Configure Amazon Route 53 with health checks and failover routing to the DR region.
✓ D.Create an RDS cross-Region read replica in the DR region.
E.Configure S3 cross-Region replication for application data stored in S3.
Why C: Options C and D are correct. C: RDS cross-Region read replicas can be promoted to become the primary in the DR region, meeting the RPO with minimal data loss. D: Amazon Route 53 health checks and failover routing can redirect traffic to the DR region within the RTO. A is wrong because AMI copying and instance launch can exceed 1 hour. B is wrong because S3 cross-Region replication does not help with EC2 and RDS. E is wrong because CloudFormation alone does not automatically failover.
Variation 3. A company is designing a disaster recovery strategy for a critical application that requires a Recovery Time Objective (RTO) of 15 minutes and a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of 1 hour. The application runs on EC2 with data stored in Amazon RDS Multi-AZ. Which approach meets these requirements?
medium
✓ A.Use a pilot light strategy with RDS cross-Region read replicas and automated backups
B.Use backup and restore with daily snapshots to another Region
C.Use a warm standby with a scaled-down production environment in another Region
D.Use a Multi-AZ deployment in the same Region for DR
Why A: Option A is correct because a pilot light strategy with RDS cross-Region read replicas and automated backups meets the RTO of 15 minutes and RPO of 1 hour. The cross-Region read replica provides near-synchronous replication with an RPO typically under 5 seconds, and automated backups enable point-in-time recovery within the 1-hour RPO. The pilot light approach allows rapid promotion of the replica to a primary instance, achieving the 15-minute RTO by keeping minimal core services running in the DR Region.
Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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