- A
Use a read replica and promote it during a failure.
Promoting a read replica is faster than restoring from backup.
- B
Configure automated backups with point-in-time recovery.
Allows restore to any point within retention period.
- C
Enable deletion protection.
Why wrong: Deletion protection prevents accidental deletion but does not aid recovery.
- D
Create manual snapshots daily.
Why wrong: Manual snapshots do not reduce RTO as they require manual restore.
- E
Enable Multi-AZ deployment.
Automatic failover to standby reduces downtime.
Question 1,383 of 1,546
SOA-C02 Reliability and Business Continuity Practice Question
This SOA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of reliability and business continuity. 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.
Which THREE measures can be used to improve the recovery time objective (RTO) for a database running on Amazon RDS? (Choose three.)
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 a read replica and promote it during a failure.
A read replica can be promoted to a primary database instance during a failure, which reduces RTO because the replica is already up and running with a synchronized copy of the data. This avoids the time needed to restore from a backup or snapshot, making it a fast failover option for read-heavy workloads.
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 a read replica and promote it during a failure.
Why this is correct
Promoting a read replica is faster than restoring from backup.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Configure automated backups with point-in-time recovery.
Why this is correct
Allows restore to any point within retention period.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Enable deletion protection.
Why it's wrong here
Deletion protection prevents accidental deletion but does not aid recovery.
- ✗
Create manual snapshots daily.
Why it's wrong here
Manual snapshots do not reduce RTO as they require manual restore.
- ✓
Enable Multi-AZ deployment.
Why this is correct
Automatic failover to standby reduces downtime.
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 data durability features (like snapshots and deletion protection) with recovery time improvements, failing to recognize that only mechanisms providing automatic or fast failover (Multi-AZ, read replica promotion) and quick restore options (automated backups for point-in-time) directly reduce RTO.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Multi-AZ deployment uses synchronous replication to a standby instance in a different Availability Zone, with automatic failover handled by Amazon RDS DNS changes, typically completing within 60–120 seconds. Read replicas use asynchronous replication and require manual promotion, which can take minutes but avoids the restore time of snapshots. Automated backups with point-in-time recovery enable restoring to any second within the retention period, but the restore process itself can take hours depending on database size, so it primarily improves RPO rather than RTO.
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.
Visual reference
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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Reliability and Business Continuity — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SOA-C02 question test?
Reliability and Business Continuity — This question tests Reliability and Business Continuity — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use a read replica and promote it during a failure. — A read replica can be promoted to a primary database instance during a failure, which reduces RTO because the replica is already up and running with a synchronized copy of the data. This avoids the time needed to restore from a backup or snapshot, making it a fast failover option for read-heavy workloads.
What should I do if I get this SOA-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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