SAP-C02 Practice Question: Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization
A company is migrating an on-premises Oracle database to Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL. The database is 10 TB and supports a critical application with a maximum allowable downtime of 30 minutes. The company wants to use AWS Database Migration Service (AWS DMS) with change data capture (CDC) to minimize downtime. After the initial full load, CDC is replicating ongoing changes. The company needs to perform the final cutover. Which sequence of steps should the company take to achieve the least downtime?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is stopping the DMS task too early, before CDC has fully caught up, which leads to missing data in the target.
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
✓
Stop the application, wait for CDC to catch up, stop the DMS task, and then redirect the application to Aurora.
The correct cutover process with AWS DMS and CDC involves stopping the application to prevent new writes, allowing CDC to replicate the remaining changes to Aurora, and then stopping the DMS task. This ensures data consistency. After that, the application can be redirected to Aurora. This sequence minimizes downtime while guaranteeing no data loss.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Stop the application, stop the DMS task, and then redirect the application to Aurora.
Why it's wrong here
Stopping the application and immediately stopping the DMS task without waiting for CDC to catch up will result in unreplicated changes that were in flight. The DMS task needs time to apply the remaining changes from the source to the target. Without waiting, data loss occurs, and the cutover would not be clean.
- ✓
Stop the application, wait for CDC to catch up, stop the DMS task, and then redirect the application to Aurora.
Why this is correct
This sequence ensures that all changes are replicated before switching. Stopping the application prevents new writes, allowing CDC to catch up and replicate the final changes. Stopping the DMS task after catch-up ensures no data loss. Then redirecting the application to Aurora completes the cutover. This minimizes downtime to the time needed for CDC to catch up and the application switch.
- ✗
Stop the DMS task, stop the application, and then redirect the application to Aurora.
Why it's wrong here
Stopping the DMS task before the application stops means that any changes made after the task stops will not be replicated, leading to data loss. The application must be stopped first to ensure no new changes are generated while CDC catches up. This sequence would result in an inconsistent database and potential data loss.
- ✗
Keep the application running, stop the DMS task, and then redirect the application to Aurora.
Why it's wrong here
Stopping the DMS task while the application is still running will cause changes to be missed and not replicated. The application would continue to write to the source database, but those changes would not appear in Aurora. This would lead to data inconsistency and is not a valid cutover strategy.
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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
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