SAA-C03 Design Resilient Architectures Practice Question
A payments API requires point-in-time recovery and accidental-delete protection for a DynamoDB table. Which two settings should the architect enable? The architecture review board prefers a managed AWS-native control.
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse operational features like DAX (caching) or GSIs (indexing) with data protection mechanisms, but neither provides backup/restore or deletion safeguards required for resilience and data durability.
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
✓
Deletion protection or tightly controlled delete permissions
Point-in-time recovery (PITR) enables continuous backups of the DynamoDB table, allowing restoration to any point within the last 35 days, which satisfies the requirement for point-in-time recovery. Deletion protection prevents accidental deletion of the table by blocking drop-table operations, meeting the accidental-delete protection requirement. Both are managed AWS-native controls that require no custom scripting or external tooling.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Deletion protection or tightly controlled delete permissions
Why this is correct
Deletion protection blocks table deletion outright, satisfying the accidental-delete requirement with a managed AWS-native control needing no custom tooling. Pair it with point-in-time recovery for continuous backups, enabling restore to any second within the 35-day window and meeting the low RPO.
- ✓
Point-in-time recovery
Why this is correct
Point-in-time recovery satisfies the point-in-time recovery requirement by continuously backing up the DynamoDB table with 35-day retention, enabling restores to any second within that window. It is an AWS-native managed control, matching the board's preference, and complements deletion protection rather than replacing it.
- ✗
Global secondary indexes
Why it's wrong here
Global secondary indexes are alternate query keys for read patterns; they store no recovery or deletion-protection state. They are tempting because GSIs are a core DynamoDB design feature, and would be the correct choice when the table needs to serve queries on attributes other than the partition key.
- ✗
DAX
Why it's wrong here
DAX is an in-memory read cache that reduces latency for eventually consistent reads; it provides neither point-in-time recovery nor delete protection. It is tempting because DAX is managed and AWS-native, and would be correct for read-heavy workloads needing microsecond response times on repeated queries.
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Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.