Error handling and retries in DynamoDB - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What is the main purpose of error handling in DynamoDB operations?

Error handling helps detect and manage problems during database operations, ensuring the application can respond gracefully instead of crashing.

beginner

Why are retries important when working with DynamoDB?

Retries help recover from temporary issues like network glitches or throttling by trying the operation again after a short wait.

intermediate

What is exponential backoff in the context of retries?

Exponential backoff means waiting longer between each retry attempt, usually doubling the wait time, to reduce overload and increase chances of success.

intermediate

Name two common error types you should handle when using DynamoDB.

Common errors include ProvisionedThroughputExceededException (when request rate is too high) and ConditionalCheckFailedException (when a condition in the request is not met).

intermediate

How can you implement retries safely to avoid infinite loops?

Use a maximum retry count and exponential backoff delays. Stop retrying after the limit is reached and handle the failure appropriately.

What does a retry mechanism help with in DynamoDB operations?

A Recovering from temporary errors

B Increasing data size limits

C Changing table schemas automatically

D Encrypting data at rest

Retries help recover from temporary errors like throttling or network issues by trying the operation again.

Which error indicates that your request rate is too high for DynamoDB?

A ConditionalCheckFailedException

B ProvisionedThroughputExceededException

C ResourceNotFoundException

D ValidationException

ProvisionedThroughputExceededException means the request rate exceeded the provisioned capacity.

What is the best practice to avoid retry storms in DynamoDB?

A Use exponential backoff with jitter

B Ignore errors and continue

C Retry only once

D Retry immediately without delay

Exponential backoff with jitter spreads out retries to reduce load and avoid retry storms.

Which of these is NOT a good way to handle errors in DynamoDB?

A Stopping retries after a max count

B Retrying with exponential backoff

C Logging the error details

D Ignoring errors silently

Ignoring errors silently can hide problems and cause unexpected failures.

What should you do after reaching the maximum retry attempts?

A Keep retrying indefinitely

B Delete the DynamoDB table

C Log the failure and alert if needed

D Restart the application

After max retries, log the failure and alert to handle the issue properly.

Explain how exponential backoff helps in retrying DynamoDB operations.

Think about how waiting longer each time helps the system recover.

Describe the steps you would take to handle errors and retries when writing to a DynamoDB table.

Consider both detecting errors and managing retries safely.