AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) — Question 429
A company needs to migrate a MySQL database from its on-premises data center to AWS within 2 weeks. The database is 20 TB in size. The company wants to complete the migration with minimal downtime.
Which solution will migrate the database MOST cost-effectively?
Answer options
- A. Order an AWS Snowball Edge Storage Optimized device. Use AWS Database Migration Service (AWS DMS) with AWS Schema Conversion Tool (AWS SCT) to migrate the database with replication of ongoing changes. Send the Snowball Edge device to AWS to finish the migration and continue the ongoing replication.
- B. Order an AWS Snowmobile vehicle. Use AWS Database Migration Service (AWS DMS) with AWS Schema Conversion Tool (AWS SCT) to migrate the database with ongoing changes. Send the Snowmobile vehicle back to AWS to finish the migration and continue the ongoing replication.
- C. Order an AWS Snowball Edge Compute Optimized with GPU device. Use AWS Database Migration Service (AWS DMS) with AWS Schema Conversion Tool (AWS SCT) to migrate the database with ongoing changes. Send the Snowball device to AWS to finish the migration and continue the ongoing replication
- D. Order a 1 GB dedicated AWS Direct Connect connection to establish a connection with the data center. Use AWS Database Migration Service (AWS DMS) with AWS Schema Conversion Tool (AWS SCT) to migrate the database with replication of ongoing changes.
Correct answer: A
Explanation
An AWS Snowball Edge Storage Optimized device is the most cost-effective and practical choice for transferring 20 TB of data within a tight two-week timeframe, whereas an AWS Snowmobile is designed for exabyte-scale migrations and is highly expensive. Using AWS DMS with AWS SCT allows for offline seeding via Snowball combined with online replication of ongoing changes to minimize downtime. A dedicated 1 GB AWS Direct Connect connection would take too long to provision and is less cost-effective for a one-time migration of this size.