- A
Export the database to Amazon S3 using AWS DMS and import in another Region
Why wrong: High RTO; takes longer than 15 minutes.
- B
Deploy Multi-AZ RDS instance and enable automatic failover
Multi-AZ provides synchronous replication, RPO ~seconds, RTO ~minutes.
- C
Use automated backups with point-in-time recovery in the same Region
Why wrong: PITR restores take longer than 15 minutes and do not protect against regional failure.
- D
Take manual snapshots every hour and restore in another Region
Why wrong: RPO could be up to 1 hour, but restore time exceeds 15 minutes.
- E
Create a cross-Region read replica and promote it during disaster
Asynchronous replication with RPO < 1 hour and promotion within minutes.
Question 66 of 1,746
SAP-C02 Design for New Solutions Practice Question
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 strategy for a production database running on Amazon RDS for MySQL. The RTO is 15 minutes and RPO is 1 hour. Which TWO solutions meet these requirements? (Choose two.)
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
✓
Deploy Multi-AZ RDS instance and enable automatic failover
Option B is correct because Multi-AZ RDS for MySQL provides automatic synchronous standby replication to a different Availability Zone, enabling automatic failover within minutes (typically 1-2 minutes) without data loss. This meets the 15-minute RTO and 1-hour RPO, as failover is automated and synchronous replication ensures zero data loss.
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.
- ✗
Export the database to Amazon S3 using AWS DMS and import in another Region
Why it's wrong here
High RTO; takes longer than 15 minutes.
- ✓
Deploy Multi-AZ RDS instance and enable automatic failover
Why this is correct
Multi-AZ provides synchronous replication, RPO ~seconds, RTO ~minutes.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Use automated backups with point-in-time recovery in the same Region
Why it's wrong here
PITR restores take longer than 15 minutes and do not protect against regional failure.
- ✗
Take manual snapshots every hour and restore in another Region
Why it's wrong here
RPO could be up to 1 hour, but restore time exceeds 15 minutes.
- ✓
Create a cross-Region read replica and promote it during disaster
Why this is correct
Asynchronous replication with RPO < 1 hour and promotion within minutes.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Multi-AZ (synchronous, same-Region) with cross-Region read replicas (asynchronous, cross-Region), or assume manual snapshots can meet tight RTO/RPO without considering restore time and operational complexity.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Multi-AZ RDS uses synchronous replication to a standby instance in a different AZ, ensuring zero data loss on failover. Cross-Region read replicas use asynchronous replication with a typical lag of seconds to minutes, which can meet a 1-hour RPO but requires manual promotion (e.g., via AWS CLI or console) to become the primary, adding operational overhead. The RTO for cross-Region read replicas depends on detection and promotion time, which can be under 15 minutes with automation (e.g., using Amazon Route 53 health checks and AWS Lambda).
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.
TExam Day Tips
- 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.
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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: Deploy Multi-AZ RDS instance and enable automatic failover — Option B is correct because Multi-AZ RDS for MySQL provides automatic synchronous standby replication to a different Availability Zone, enabling automatic failover within minutes (typically 1-2 minutes) without data loss. This meets the 15-minute RTO and 1-hour RPO, as failover is automated and synchronous replication ensures zero data loss.
What should I do if I get this SAP-C02 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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