SAP-C02 Practice Question: Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization
A company is migrating a large-scale e-commerce platform from on-premises to AWS. The migration plan includes rehosting the application servers and replatforming the database to Amazon Aurora. The company needs to ensure minimal downtime during the cutover. Which strategy should the company use for the database migration?
⚠ Common exam trap
SAP-C02 often tests the misconception that a full load alone is sufficient for minimal downtime, ignoring the need for ongoing replication to capture changes during the migration.
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 AWS DMS with a full load and ongoing replication to keep the target synchronized
AWS DMS with a full load and ongoing replication (change data capture) keeps the target Aurora database synchronized with the source during the migration. This allows minimal downtime because the cutover only requires stopping writes to the source and letting DMS apply the final changes, then redirecting the application to Aurora. This is the standard strategy for minimal-downtime database migrations.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Use AWS DMS with a full load and ongoing replication to keep the target synchronized
Why this is correct
AWS DMS full load plus ongoing change data capture replicates ongoing transactions continuously, so the Aurora target stays synchronised until cutover. This directly satisfies the minimal-downtime requirement, since the switch happens only after replication lag reaches near zero.
- ✗
Use AWS DMS with a full load only, then cut over
Why it's wrong here
A full load copies data once and stops, so changes made on-premises during the load are lost, forcing application downtime until cutover completes. It is tempting for small databases where a maintenance window is acceptable, but continuous replication via change data capture is needed for minimal downtime.
- ✗
Use an application-level dual-write to both databases during the cutover
Why it's wrong here
Dual-write requires modifying application code to write to two databases and handle conflicts, which the rehost plan avoids and which risks divergence. It is tempting when no replication tool fits the schema, but AWS DMS with change data capture replicates without application changes.
- ✗
Take a snapshot of the on-premises database and restore it to Amazon Aurora
Why it's wrong here
Snapshot and restore captures a point-in-time copy, so writes occurring after the snapshot are absent, requiring downtime to freeze the source before cutover. It is tempting for offline or development databases where a short outage is tolerable, but Aurora migration with minimal downtime needs ongoing replication.
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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 SAP-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 SAP-C02 exam.