- A
Replace the RDS Multi-AZ cluster with Amazon Aurora Global Database to replicate data across regions.
Aurora Global Database provides cross-region replication with low RPO.
- B
Use an active-passive architecture with a second Auto Scaling group and ALB in another region.
This provides a warm standby for the application tier in a different region.
- C
Use Amazon EFS Replication to replicate application data across regions with a recovery point objective (RPO) of 1 second.
Why wrong: EFS replication is asynchronous and may not meet RPO of 1 second; it is also not for databases.
- D
Extend the existing Auto Scaling group to launch instances in two regions by specifying a second region in the launch template.
Why wrong: Auto Scaling groups are regional resources; you cannot span regions.
- E
Set up Amazon Route 53 with health checks and failover routing policy to direct traffic to the secondary region if the primary fails.
Route 53 failover routing enables automatic DNS failover to the secondary region.
Quick Answer
The correct answer involves deploying an Amazon Aurora Global Database to replace the single-region RDS Multi-AZ cluster, as it provides cross-region asynchronous replication with a typical RPO of 1 second and an RTO of 1 minute, comfortably exceeding the required 5-minute RTO and 1-second RPO. This is necessary because standard RDS Multi-AZ is confined to a single Availability Zone pair within one region and cannot survive a regional outage, whereas Aurora Global Database replicates data across multiple AWS Regions with minimal lag, ensuring the database tier remains available even if an entire region fails. On the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional DOP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of the critical distinction between high availability within a region (Multi-AZ) and disaster recovery across regions (Global Database), a common trap where candidates mistakenly think Multi-AZ alone provides regional resilience. Remember the memory tip: “Multi-AZ for AZ failure, Global for region failure.”
DOP-C02 Resilient Cloud Solutions Practice Question
This DOP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of resilient cloud solutions. 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 runs a critical application on AWS using Amazon EC2 instances in an Auto Scaling group, an Application Load Balancer (ALB), and an Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL Multi-AZ DB cluster. The application must maintain an RTO of 5 minutes and an RPO of 1 second for database transactions. The current setup meets these requirements, but the DevOps team wants to improve the resilience of the application tier to withstand a regional failure. Which THREE actions should be taken? (Choose three.)
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
Replace the RDS Multi-AZ cluster with Amazon Aurora Global Database to replicate data across regions.
Amazon Aurora Global Database is the correct choice because it provides cross-region replication with a typical RPO of 1 second and RTO of 1 minute, meeting the stated requirements. Unlike standard RDS Multi-AZ, which is limited to a single region, Aurora Global Database replicates data asynchronously across multiple regions with minimal lag, ensuring the database tier can survive a regional failure while maintaining the required RPO of 1 second.
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.
- ✓
Replace the RDS Multi-AZ cluster with Amazon Aurora Global Database to replicate data across regions.
Why this is correct
Aurora Global Database provides cross-region replication with low RPO.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Use an active-passive architecture with a second Auto Scaling group and ALB in another region.
Why this is correct
This provides a warm standby for the application tier in a different region.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Use Amazon EFS Replication to replicate application data across regions with a recovery point objective (RPO) of 1 second.
Why it's wrong here
EFS replication is asynchronous and may not meet RPO of 1 second; it is also not for databases.
- ✗
Extend the existing Auto Scaling group to launch instances in two regions by specifying a second region in the launch template.
Why it's wrong here
Auto Scaling groups are regional resources; you cannot span regions.
- ✓
Set up Amazon Route 53 with health checks and failover routing policy to direct traffic to the secondary region if the primary fails.
Why this is correct
Route 53 failover routing enables automatic DNS failover to the secondary region.
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 often confuse Multi-AZ with cross-region disaster recovery, assuming Multi-AZ alone provides regional failover, when in fact it only protects against Availability Zone failures within a single region.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Aurora Global Database uses a storage-based replication mechanism that writes to a primary region's cluster volume and asynchronously replicates to secondary regions using dedicated replication links, achieving sub-second RPO in most cases. The failover process involves promoting a secondary region to primary, which typically completes within 1 minute, aligning with the 5-minute RTO requirement. In contrast, standard RDS Multi-AZ only provides high availability within a single region via synchronous replication to a standby in a different Availability Zone.
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 DOP-C02 question test?
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: Replace the RDS Multi-AZ cluster with Amazon Aurora Global Database to replicate data across regions. — Amazon Aurora Global Database is the correct choice because it provides cross-region replication with a typical RPO of 1 second and RTO of 1 minute, meeting the stated requirements. Unlike standard RDS Multi-AZ, which is limited to a single region, Aurora Global Database replicates data asynchronously across multiple regions with minimal lag, ensuring the database tier can survive a regional failure while maintaining the required RPO of 1 second.
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.
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 →
Same concept, more angles
1 more ways this is tested on DOP-C02
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 runs a critical application on Amazon EC2 instances in an Auto Scaling group. To ensure high availability, the instances are deployed across three Availability Zones. Which additional step should the company take to protect against a regional failure?
easy- A.Place all instances in a single Availability Zone to simplify management.
- B.Use EC2 Dedicated Hosts to ensure capacity.
- C.Increase the minimum size of the Auto Scaling group to 10 instances.
- ✓ D.Deploy the application in a second AWS Region and use Route 53 with failover routing.
Why D: Option B is correct because deploying resources in multiple AWS Regions protects against a regional outage. Option A is wrong because placing instances in the same AZ reduces resilience. Option C is wrong because increasing minimum instances does not protect against region failure. Option D is wrong because more instance types do not affect regional resilience.
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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.
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