PAS-C01 Migration Practice Question
A company is migrating a 50 TB Oracle database to Amazon RDS for Oracle using AWS DMS. The source database is running on-premises and the network link has a bandwidth of 100 Mbps. The migration must complete within 5 days. What is the MOST effective approach to meet the deadline?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently assume Direct Connect or DMS online can handle large migrations over slow links, but they fail to calculate the raw transfer time; the question explicitly tests the ability to recognize when offline transfer (Snowball) is the only viable option for multi-terabyte datasets under tight deadlines.
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 Snowball to transfer the data offline, then use DMS for CDC
The 50 TB database over a 100 Mbps link would take approximately 48 days for a full load (50 TB * 8 / 100 Mbps / 86400 seconds/day), far exceeding the 5-day deadline. AWS Snowball allows offline transfer of the full database snapshot, bypassing network bandwidth constraints, after which AWS DMS can be used for ongoing change data capture (CDC) to replicate incremental changes. This hybrid approach meets the deadline while ensuring minimal 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.
- ✗
Provision a Direct Connect connection to increase bandwidth
Why it's wrong here
Direct Connect improves bandwidth but still may not transfer 50 TB in 5 days, and provisioning takes time.
- ✓
Use AWS Snowball to transfer the data offline, then use DMS for CDC
Why this is correct
Snowball transfers data physically, meeting the 5-day window; DMS handles ongoing changes.
- ✗
Use AWS DMS with full load and change data capture (CDC) online
Why it's wrong here
Online transfer at 100 Mbps would take ~46 days, exceeding the 5-day window.
- ✗
Use AWS Schema Conversion Tool (SCT) to convert schema, then DMS for data
Why it's wrong here
SCT only handles schema conversion; data transfer still over the wire.
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Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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