SAP-C02 Practice Question: Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization
A company is migrating an application that uses a commercial database to Amazon RDS. The database size is 500 GB. Which migration approach minimizes downtime?
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 Database Migration Service (AWS DMS) with ongoing replication (change data capture).
AWS Database Migration Service (AWS DMS) with ongoing replication (change data capture) allows the source database to remain fully operational during migration, with only a brief downtime during the final cutover. This minimizes overall downtime. Option A is incorrect because using native database tools for export and import requires taking the source database offline for the duration of the export and import. Option B is incorrect because AWS Snowball Edge is an offline data transfer device; it requires copying database files to the device and shipping it, which does not support ongoing replication and results in significant downtime. Option D is incorrect because copying database files to Amazon S3 and restoring to RDS involves creating a backup of the database, which can cause downtime, and the restore process also takes time.
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 native database tools to export and import data.
Why it's wrong here
This requires significant downtime.
- ✗
Use AWS Snowball Edge to transfer the database files.
Why it's wrong here
Snowball is offline and not suitable for minimizing downtime.
- ✓
Use AWS Database Migration Service (AWS DMS) with ongoing replication (change data capture).
Why this is correct
DMS with CDC allows near-zero downtime.
- ✗
Copy database files to Amazon S3 and restore to RDS.
Why it's wrong here
This is not a standard migration approach and may not work.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
Go deeper
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.