Why managed databases matter in AWS - Test Your Understanding

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to create a managed database instance in AWS.

AWS

resource "aws_db_instance" "mydb" {
  allocated_storage = 20
  engine           = "mysql"
  instance_class   = "[1]"
  db_name          = "mydatabase"
  username         = "admin"
  password         = "password123"
  parameter_group_name = "default.mysql5.7"
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Adb.m5.large

Bt2.micro

Cdb.t2.micro

Dm5.large

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using instance types without the 'db.' prefix.

Choosing instance classes that don't exist in RDS.

The instance_class must specify a valid AWS RDS instance type like db.m5.large for managed databases.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to enable automatic backups for the managed database.

AWS

resource "aws_db_instance" "mydb" {
  allocated_storage    = 20
  engine              = "mysql"
  instance_class      = "db.m5.large"
  db_name             = "mydatabase"
  username            = "admin"
  password            = "password123"
  backup_retention_period = [1]
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A0

B30

C-1

D7

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Setting backup retention to 0 disables backups.

Using negative numbers is invalid.

The backup_retention_period sets how many days backups are kept. Setting it to 7 enables automatic backups for one week.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the code to enable Multi-AZ deployment for high availability.

AWS

resource "aws_db_instance" "mydb" {
  allocated_storage    = 20
  engine              = "mysql"
  instance_class      = "db.m5.large"
  db_name             = "mydatabase"
  username            = "admin"
  password            = "password123"
  multi_az            = [1]
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A"false"

B"true"

Ctrue

D1

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using quotes around boolean values causes errors.

Using numbers instead of booleans is invalid.

The multi_az attribute expects a boolean value true or false, not a string.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to configure the database to be publicly accessible and set the storage type.

AWS

resource "aws_db_instance" "mydb" {
  allocated_storage    = 20
  engine              = "mysql"
  instance_class      = "db.m5.large"
  publicly_accessible = [1]
  storage_type        = "[2]"
  username            = "admin"
  password            = "password123"
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Atrue

Bfalse

Cgp2

Dstandard

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'false' for public access when external access is needed.

Choosing 'standard' storage which is slower.

Setting publicly_accessible to true allows access from outside the VPC. The storage_type gp2 is a common SSD storage type for better performance.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to configure the database with encryption, backup window, and maintenance window.

AWS

resource "aws_db_instance" "mydb" {
  allocated_storage       = 20
  engine                 = "mysql"
  instance_class         = "db.m5.large"
  storage_encrypted      = [1]
  backup_window          = "[2]"
  maintenance_window     = "[3]"
  username               = "admin"
  password               = "password123"
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Atrue

B03:00-04:00

Csun:05:00-sun:06:00

Dfalse

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using false for encryption when security is required.

Incorrect time format for windows causes errors.

Enabling storage_encrypted with true secures data at rest. The backup_window and maintenance_window specify times in UTC when backups and maintenance occur, respectively.

Practice

1. What is the main benefit of using a managed database service in AWS?

easy

A. It requires manual setup of hardware

B. It only works with specific programming languages

C. It needs you to manage software updates

D. It handles backups and maintenance automatically

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand managed database features

   Managed databases automate tasks like backups, patching, and scaling.

2. Step 2: Compare options

   The other options refer to manual tasks like hardware setup, software updates, or language restrictions, which are handled automatically by managed services.

3. Final Answer:

   It handles backups and maintenance automatically -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Managed databases automate maintenance [OK]

Hint: Managed means AWS does the hard work for you [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking you must manually update software
• Assuming hardware setup is required
• Believing managed DBs limit programming languages

2. Which AWS service is a managed relational database?

easy

A. Amazon RDS

B. Amazon EC2

C. Amazon S3

D. AWS Lambda

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify AWS services

   Amazon RDS is designed for managed relational databases.

2. Step 2: Eliminate other options

   EC2 is virtual servers, S3 is storage, Lambda is serverless compute.

3. Final Answer:

   Amazon RDS -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Managed relational DB = RDS [OK]

Hint: RDS = managed relational database service [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing EC2 with database service
• Thinking S3 stores databases
• Assuming Lambda manages databases

3. Consider this AWS RDS feature: automatic backups. What happens if you delete your database instance?

medium

A. Backups are converted to snapshots automatically

B. Backups are deleted immediately

C. Backups are kept for the retention period

D. Backups are sent to Amazon S3 Glacier

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand RDS backup retention

   RDS keeps automated backups for the retention period even after the DB instance is deleted, unless you delete the backups manually or disable retention.

2. Step 2: Review other options

   Backups are not converted to snapshots automatically, nor deleted immediately by default, and are not sent to Glacier automatically.

3. Final Answer:

   Backups are kept for the retention period -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   RDS retains automated backups for retention period after deletion [OK]

Hint: RDS retains automated backups for retention period after DB instance deletion [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking backups are deleted immediately
• Thinking backups auto-convert to snapshots
• Believing backups move to Glacier by default

4. You set up an AWS managed database but notice it is not scaling automatically. What is the most likely cause?

medium

A. The database engine does not support backups

B. Auto scaling is not enabled or configured

C. You did not create a security group

D. The database is running on EC2 instances

Solution

1. Step 1: Check auto scaling settings

   Managed databases require auto scaling to be enabled to scale automatically.

2. Step 2: Eliminate unrelated causes

   Backups support is unrelated to scaling; security groups control access; EC2 is not managed DB.

3. Final Answer:

   Auto scaling is not enabled or configured -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Auto scaling off means no scaling [OK]

Hint: Auto scaling must be enabled for automatic scaling [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing backups with scaling
• Ignoring security group role
• Thinking EC2 is managed DB

5. You want to build a web app that requires a database with automatic backups, scaling, and security without manual maintenance. Which AWS approach best fits this need?

hard

A. Use Amazon RDS with Multi-AZ deployment and automated backups enabled

B. Deploy a database on EC2 and schedule manual backups

C. Store data in Amazon S3 and manage backups yourself

D. Use AWS Lambda functions to handle database scaling

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify managed database features needed

   Automatic backups, scaling, and security are built into Amazon RDS with Multi-AZ and backups enabled.

2. Step 2: Compare other options

   EC2 requires manual maintenance; S3 is object storage, not a database; Lambda is compute, not DB scaling.

3. Final Answer:

   Use Amazon RDS with Multi-AZ deployment and automated backups enabled -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Managed DB with backups and scaling = RDS Multi-AZ [OK]

Hint: Managed RDS with Multi-AZ covers backups and scaling [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Choosing EC2 for managed features
• Confusing S3 with database storage
• Using Lambda for database scaling