SAP-C02 Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions Practice Question
A company runs a production database on Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL. They need to perform a major version upgrade with minimal downtime. Which strategy should they use?
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 read replica of the current database using the new version, promote it, and update the connection string.
Creating a read replica with the new PostgreSQL version, promoting it, and updating the connection string minimizes downtime by allowing the replica to catch up before promotion. Option A (DMS) adds complexity and potential lag. Option C (pg_dump) involves export/import time and potential data loss. Option D (in-place upgrade) causes downtime during the upgrade and risk of failure.
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 Database Migration Service (DMS) to replicate data to a new instance.
Why it's wrong here
DMS can be used but requires careful cutover and may have lag.
- ✓
Create a read replica of the current database using the new version, promote it, and update the connection string.
Why this is correct
This approach reduces downtime to a brief cutover window.
- ✗
Create a new RDS instance with the new version and migrate data using pg_dump.
Why it's wrong here
pg_dump is slow and causes extended downtime.
- ✗
Take a snapshot of the database, perform an in-place upgrade, and restore if needed.
Why it's wrong here
In-place upgrade causes downtime during the upgrade process.
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Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on SAP-C02
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company is using Amazon RDS for MySQL and wants to minimize downtime during a major version upgrade. Which approach is the MOST effective?
easy- A.Take a snapshot, restore as a new instance with the new version, and update the application endpoint.
- ✓ B.Create a read replica with the new version, promote it to primary, and update the application endpoint.
- C.Launch a new RDS instance with the new version, use DMS to migrate data, and switch the application endpoint.
- D.Use the AWS RDS modify-db-instance command with the --allow-major-version-upgrade option. This typically causes a few minutes of downtime but is the simplest.
Why B: Creating a read replica, upgrading it, and then promoting it to primary minimizes downtime because the promotion is a quick operation.
JA
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.