SAA-C03 Design Resilient Architectures Practice Question
A healthcare company needs to store patient records in Amazon DynamoDB. The records must be highly available and durable across multiple Availability Zones. The company also requires the ability to recover the table to any point in time within the last 35 days in case of accidental writes or deletions. Which solution meets these requirements?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is thinking that additional features like global secondary indexes or cross-Region replicas are needed for multi-AZ durability, when DynamoDB already provides it by default.
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
✓
Create a DynamoDB table and enable point-in-time recovery (PITR).
DynamoDB tables are automatically replicated across multiple Availability Zones within a Region, ensuring high availability and durability. Enabling point-in-time recovery (PITR) provides continuous backups and allows restoration to any point in time within the last 35 days. This combination meets the requirements without additional configuration such as global tables or secondary indexes.
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 DynamoDB table and enable point-in-time recovery (PITR).
Why this is correct
DynamoDB automatically replicates data across multiple Availability Zones within an AWS Region, providing high availability and durability. Enabling point-in-time recovery (PITR) allows restoration to any point in time within the last 35 days, protecting against accidental writes or deletions. This solution meets both the durability and recovery requirements without additional complexity.
- ✗
Create a DynamoDB table with a read replica in another AWS Region and enable point-in-time recovery (PITR).
Why it's wrong here
DynamoDB global tables provide multi-Region replication, but the requirement is for high availability and durability across multiple Availability Zones, which is already provided by default within a single Region. A cross-Region read replica adds complexity and cost without addressing the core requirement. PITR is available, but the multi-Region setup is unnecessary.
- ✗
Create a DynamoDB table with a global secondary index and enable point-in-time recovery (PITR).
Why it's wrong here
A global secondary index (GSI) provides additional query flexibility but does not enhance durability or availability across Availability Zones. DynamoDB tables are already replicated across multiple AZs by default. PITR provides point-in-time recovery, but the GSI is irrelevant to the requirement. This option does not address the need for cross-AZ durability explicitly.
- ✗
Create a DynamoDB table with on-demand capacity mode and enable point-in-time recovery (PITR).
Why it's wrong here
On-demand capacity mode automatically scales read and write capacity but does not affect durability or availability. DynamoDB is inherently durable and available across multiple AZs regardless of capacity mode. PITR is needed, but on-demand mode is not a requirement. This option includes an unnecessary feature.
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Amazon Web Services exam blueprint
This SAA-C03 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 SAA-C03 exam.