SAP-C02 Question 179
Select 2A company operates a mission-critical application on AWS that handles financial transactions. The application runs on an Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling group across multiple Availability Zones and stores data in an Amazon RDS Multi-AZ database. To ensure business continuity in case of a regional disaster, the company wants to design a solution that minimizes downtime and data loss. Which of the following solutions will BEST meet their requirements?
- A
Enable Amazon RDS read replicas in a different AWS Region and promote one to primary in case of a disaster.
- B
Set up an Amazon RDS cross-Region read replica and configure automated failover to the replica.
- C
Deploy the application in a secondary AWS Region using AWS CloudFormation templates, and set up Amazon Route 53 for DNS failover.
- D
Use AWS Backup to take periodic snapshots of the RDS database and restore them in another Region during a disaster.
- E
Set up an Amazon Aurora Global Database for the RDS database to enable cross-Region replication with minimal lag.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answers: C, E
Explanation
To ensure business continuity during a regional disaster, it is important to have both infrastructure readiness and mechanisms for seamless failover with minimal downtime and data loss. Option 3 ensures infrastructure and DNS readiness in a secondary Region, while option 5 provides near real-time cross-Region replication and fast recovery through Aurora Global Database. Together, these solutions provide a robust disaster recovery plan while minimizing downtime and data loss.
- A. Incorrect.
While this option allows for manual promotion of a read replica to primary in another Region, it does not provide automated failover, leading to potential delays in recovery.
- B. Incorrect.
Amazon RDS cross-Region read replicas do not support automated failover. Failover to a cross-Region replica must be performed manually, which may not meet the criteria for minimizing downtime.
- C. Correct.
Deploying the application in a secondary Region using CloudFormation templates ensures infrastructure readiness, and using Route 53 for DNS failover allows seamless redirection of traffic during a disaster.
- D. Incorrect.
AWS Backup snapshots do not provide real-time or near real-time replication. Restoring from snapshots may result in significant data loss and long recovery times, which does not align with minimizing downtime and data loss.
- E. Correct.
Amazon Aurora Global Database enables near real-time replication across Regions with minimal lag and supports fast recovery in case of a regional disaster, making it an ideal choice for business continuity.