- A
Create a second read replica in the secondary region
Why wrong: More replicas don't automate failover.
- B
Use a custom automation to monitor the primary and promote the replica
Automated failover requires custom logic or use of Route 53 health checks with Lambda.
- C
Configure automatic backup retention on the replica
Why wrong: Backups don't automate failover.
- D
Enable Multi-AZ on the read replica
Why wrong: Multi-AZ is for single-region high availability.
Question 994 of 1,750
DOP-C02 Resilient Cloud Solutions Practice Question
This DOP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of resilient cloud solutions. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 has a multi-region application with an RDS for MySQL database in us-east-1. They want to minimize downtime if the primary region fails. They set up a cross-region read replica in us-west-2. What additional step is needed for automated failover?
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.
Clue:
"minimum / minimize"Why it matters: Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
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
✓
Use a custom automation to monitor the primary and promote the replica
B is correct because RDS cross-region read replicas do not support automatic failover; you must use custom automation (e.g., AWS Lambda, Amazon Route 53 health checks, or a custom script) to detect primary region failure and promote the read replica to a standalone instance. This promotion breaks the replication link and makes the replica a writable primary, enabling 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 second read replica in the secondary region
Why it's wrong here
More replicas don't automate failover.
- ✓
Use a custom automation to monitor the primary and promote the replica
Why this is correct
Automated failover requires custom logic or use of Route 53 health checks with Lambda.
Clue confirmation
The clue words "primary", "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Configure automatic backup retention on the replica
Why it's wrong here
Backups don't automate failover.
- ✗
Enable Multi-AZ on the read replica
Why it's wrong here
Multi-AZ is for single-region high availability.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse Multi-AZ (which provides automatic failover within a region) with cross-region read replicas (which require manual or custom automation for failover).
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, RDS read replicas use asynchronous replication based on MySQL's native binlog replication. When you promote a replica, the replication is stopped and the instance is converted to a standalone DB instance, which can take several minutes depending on the backlog. In a real-world scenario, you must also handle DNS updates (e.g., via Route 53 failover routing) and application connection retry logic to complete the failover seamlessly.
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.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
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 — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
- →
Resilient Cloud Solutions practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
- →
All DOP-C02 questions
1,750 questions across all exam domains
- →
AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional DOP-C02 study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
- →
DOP-C02 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Related DOP-C02 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Configuration Management and IaC practice questions
Practise DOP-C02 questions linked to Configuration Management and IaC.
Resilient Cloud Solutions practice questions
Practise DOP-C02 questions linked to Resilient Cloud Solutions.
Monitoring and Logging practice questions
Practise DOP-C02 questions linked to Monitoring and Logging.
Incident and Event Response practice questions
Practise DOP-C02 questions linked to Incident and Event Response.
Security and Compliance practice questions
Practise DOP-C02 questions linked to Security and Compliance.
SDLC Automation practice questions
Practise DOP-C02 questions linked to SDLC Automation.
DOP-C02 fundamentals practice questions
Practise DOP-C02 questions linked to DOP-C02 fundamentals.
DOP-C02 scenario practice questions
Practise DOP-C02 questions linked to DOP-C02 scenario.
DOP-C02 troubleshooting practice questions
Practise DOP-C02 questions linked to DOP-C02 troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Start a free DOP-C02 practice session
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
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: Use a custom automation to monitor the primary and promote the replica — B is correct because RDS cross-region read replicas do not support automatic failover; you must use custom automation (e.g., AWS Lambda, Amazon Route 53 health checks, or a custom script) to detect primary region failure and promote the read replica to a standalone instance. This promotion breaks the replication link and makes the replica a writable primary, enabling failover.
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", "minimum / minimize". 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 →
Keep practising
More DOP-C02 practice questions
- A company uses AWS CodePipeline with a multi-branch strategy. A new feature branch triggers a pipeline that runs unit te…
- A development team uses AWS CodeBuild to compile a Java application and run unit tests. The build takes 30 minutes, but…
- A company uses AWS CodePipeline with multiple stages: Source (Amazon S3), Build (AWS CodeBuild), and Deploy (AWS CodeDep…
- A company uses AWS CodeCommit for source control. Developers frequently push large binary files (e.g., compiled JARs) to…
- A company runs a Stateful application on EC2 that requires sticky sessions. They use an ALB with duration-based stickine…
- An organization uses AWS CodePipeline to orchestrate deployments to multiple environments (dev, test, prod). Each enviro…
Last reviewed: Jul 4, 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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.