- A
Create a read replica in the same AWS Region.
Why wrong: Does not protect against regional failure.
- B
Enable Multi-AZ deployment for the RDS instance.
Provides low RPO failover within region.
- C
Create a cross-Region read replica in another AWS Region.
Provides asynchronous replication with RPO of seconds.
- D
Enable automated backups with a retention period of 35 days.
Why wrong: RPO of automated backups is up to 5 minutes, not <5 seconds.
- E
Take manual snapshots every hour.
Why wrong: RPO of up to 1 hour, not <5 seconds.
Question 1,477 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.
A SysOps administrator is designing a disaster recovery strategy for a production RDS MySQL database. The database must be recoverable within 15 minutes with a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of less than 5 seconds. Which TWO actions should the administrator take? (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
✓
Enable Multi-AZ deployment for the RDS instance.
Multi-AZ deployment (Option B) provides automatic failover to a standby replica in a different Availability Zone, enabling recovery within minutes and meeting the 15-minute RTO. Cross-Region read replicas (Option C) allow asynchronous replication to another region with an RPO typically under 5 seconds, satisfying the RPO requirement. Together, they ensure both rapid failover and minimal 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.
- ✗
Create a read replica in the same AWS Region.
Why it's wrong here
Does not protect against regional failure.
- ✓
Enable Multi-AZ deployment for the RDS instance.
Why this is correct
Provides low RPO failover within region.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Create a cross-Region read replica in another AWS Region.
Why this is correct
Provides asynchronous replication with RPO of seconds.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Enable automated backups with a retention period of 35 days.
Why it's wrong here
RPO of automated backups is up to 5 minutes, not <5 seconds.
- ✗
Take manual snapshots every hour.
Why it's wrong here
RPO of up to 1 hour, not <5 seconds.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Multi-AZ with read replicas, thinking Multi-AZ alone provides cross-region disaster recovery, or they assume automated backups or snapshots can meet a sub-5-second RPO, which they cannot due to their periodic nature.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Multi-AZ RDS uses synchronous replication to a standby instance in a different Availability Zone, ensuring zero data loss during failover but with a typical failover time of 60-120 seconds. Cross-Region read replicas use asynchronous replication based on MySQL's native binlog replication, which can achieve sub-5-second RPO under normal network conditions, but failover requires promoting the replica, which adds some RTO. In a real-world scenario, combining both provides regional resilience and fast local failover, though the RPO for cross-region replication can spike during network issues.
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.
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: Enable Multi-AZ deployment for the RDS instance. — Multi-AZ deployment (Option B) provides automatic failover to a standby replica in a different Availability Zone, enabling recovery within minutes and meeting the 15-minute RTO. Cross-Region read replicas (Option C) allow asynchronous replication to another region with an RPO typically under 5 seconds, satisfying the RPO requirement. Together, they ensure both rapid failover and minimal data loss.
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.
About these practice questions
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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