← SAP-C02·Amazon Web Services

Question 311 of 1,746

Design for New Solutions →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

Cross-Region Disaster Recovery with Aurora Global Database

This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of design for new solutions. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.

A company is designing a disaster recovery solution for a web application hosted on AWS. The primary site is in us-east-1 and the DR site is in us-west-2. The application uses an Amazon RDS for MySQL database. They need to recover the database with a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of 5 seconds and a Recovery Time Objective (RTO) of 1 hour. Which solution meets these requirements?

Clue words in this question

Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.

Clue: "primary"
Why it matters: Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.

A
Use RDS Multi-AZ in us-east-1 and failover to DR site.
Why wrong: Incorrect. RDS Multi-AZ provides high availability within a single region, not cross-region disaster recovery. It cannot meet the RPO/RTO requirements for cross-region failover.
B
Use AWS DMS with ongoing replication to an RDS instance in us-west-2.
Why wrong: Incorrect. While AWS DMS with ongoing replication can achieve low RPO, the failover process is typically manual and may result in RTO exceeding 1 hour. It is more complex than necessary for this scenario.
C
Use RDS Cross-Region Read Replica and promote it.
Correct. RDS Cross-Region Read Replicas for MySQL replicate data with an RPO of seconds. Promoting the replica is a fast operation, typically taking minutes, so RTO of 1 hour is easily satisfied.
D
Use Amazon Aurora Global Database.
Why wrong: Incorrect. Amazon Aurora Global Database is designed for Aurora databases, not for RDS MySQL. It is not compatible with the specified database type.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

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 RDS Cross-Region Read Replica and promote it.

Option C is correct because RDS Cross-Region Read Replicas for MySQL provide asynchronous replication with an RPO of typically seconds, and promoting the replica to a standalone instance can be done quickly (minutes), meeting the RTO of 1 hour. Option A is incorrect because Multi-AZ is single region. Option B is incorrect because while DMS can achieve low RPO, it is typically used for migrations and ongoing replication setups may have higher operational complexity and RTO. Option D is incorrect because Amazon Aurora Global Database is not available for RDS MySQL; it is for Aurora databases.

Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.

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 RDS Multi-AZ in us-east-1 and failover to DR site.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. RDS Multi-AZ provides high availability within a single region, not cross-region disaster recovery. It cannot meet the RPO/RTO requirements for cross-region failover.
✗
Use AWS DMS with ongoing replication to an RDS instance in us-west-2.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. While AWS DMS with ongoing replication can achieve low RPO, the failover process is typically manual and may result in RTO exceeding 1 hour. It is more complex than necessary for this scenario.
✓
Use RDS Cross-Region Read Replica and promote it.
Why this is correct
Correct. RDS Cross-Region Read Replicas for MySQL replicate data with an RPO of seconds. Promoting the replica is a fast operation, typically taking minutes, so RTO of 1 hour is easily satisfied.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "primary" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use Amazon Aurora Global Database.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Amazon Aurora Global Database is designed for Aurora databases, not for RDS MySQL. It is not compatible with the specified database type.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.

Trap categories for this question

Scenario analysis trap
Incorrect. While AWS DMS with ongoing replication can achieve low RPO, the failover process is typically manual and may result in RTO exceeding 1 hour. It is more complex than necessary for this scenario.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.

KKey Concepts to Remember

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.

TExam Day Tips

Underline the problem statement mentally.
Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.

Key takeaway

Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.

Real-world example

How this comes up in practice

A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.

What to study next

Got this wrong? Here's your next step.

Identify which SAP-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this SAP-C02 question test?

Design for New Solutions — This question tests Design for New Solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Use RDS Cross-Region Read Replica and promote it. — Option C is correct because RDS Cross-Region Read Replicas for MySQL provide asynchronous replication with an RPO of typically seconds, and promoting the replica to a standalone instance can be done quickly (minutes), meeting the RTO of 1 hour. Option A is incorrect because Multi-AZ is single region. Option B is incorrect because while DMS can achieve low RPO, it is typically used for migrations and ongoing replication setups may have higher operational complexity and RTO. Option D is incorrect because Amazon Aurora Global Database is not available for RDS MySQL; it is for Aurora databases.

What should I do if I get this SAP-C02 question wrong?

Are there clue words in this question I should notice?

Yes — watch for: "primary". Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

About these practice questions

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Same concept, more angles

1 more ways 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 designing a new application on AWS that requires a relational database with read replicas across multiple AWS Regions. The database must have automated failover and a recovery point objective (RPO) of less than 5 seconds. Which database solution should the company choose?

medium

✓ A.Amazon Aurora Global Database
B.Amazon RDS for MySQL with Multi-AZ and cross-Region read replicas
C.Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL with cross-Region read replicas and Multi-AZ
D.Amazon DynamoDB Global Tables

Why A: Amazon Aurora Global Database is the correct choice because it is designed for cross-Region replication with a typical RPO of less than 1 second and automated failover from the primary Region to a secondary Region in under 1 minute. This meets the requirement for a relational database with read replicas across multiple Regions and an RPO of less than 5 seconds, as Aurora Global Database uses a dedicated, fast replication channel that minimizes lag.

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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.