Module 5 – FINAL Q&A; (Exact Questions + Original Numbers)
Short Answer Questions (2 Marks Each)
71. What is the AWS Well-Architected Framework?
Answer: The Well-Architected Framework provides AWS best practices for building secure,
high■performing, resilient, and efficient applications.
72. What are the five pillars of the AWS Well-Architected Framework?
Answer: The five pillars are operational excellence, security, reliability, performance efficiency, and
cost optimization.
73. What is Amazon RDS? What databases does it support?
Answer: RDS is AWS’s managed relational database service supporting engines like MySQL,
PostgreSQL, Oracle, and MariaDB.
74. What is Amazon Aurora?
Answer: Aurora is a high■performance, MySQL/PostgreSQL■compatible database designed for
cloud scalability and reliability.
75. What is Amazon DynamoDB? What type of database is it?
Answer: DynamoDB is a fully managed NoSQL database offering key■value and document
storage with single■digit millisecond performance.
76. What is Amazon Redshift? What is it used for?
Answer: Amazon Redshift is a fast, scalable data warehouse optimized for analytics and reporting.
77. What is a Multi-AZ deployment in RDS?
Answer: Multi■AZ creates a standby database in another AZ for high availability and automatic
failover.
78. What is a read replica in RDS?
Answer: Read Replicas are used to scale read-heavy workloads by creating additional read-only
copies.
Long Answer Questions (5–6 lines, 3–5 Marks)
79. Explain the five design principles of the AWS Well-Architected Framework in detail.
Answer: The Well-Architected design principles include automation of operations, making frequent
small changes, preparing for failure, and measuring performance. They also encourage
least■privilege access, infrastructure as code, and continuous improvement. These principles help
teams build reliable and efficient systems on the cloud while minimizing operational risk.
80. What are the differences between relational and NoSQL databases? When would you use
each?
Answer: Relational databases store structured data in tables using SQL, ideal for transactions.
NoSQL databases store flexible, schema-free data suited for large-scale, high■speed applications.
Relational systems ensure consistency while NoSQL offers scalability and performance. AWS
provides RDS for relational needs and DynamoDB for NoSQL workloads.
81. Compare Amazon RDS and DynamoDB. What are their key differences?
Answer: RDS is a managed SQL database service handling backups, updates, and maintenance,
while DynamoDB is a serverless NoSQL database offering instant scaling and high throughput.
RDS suits transactional applications requiring joins and relational modeling; DynamoDB suits
large-scale apps such as gaming, IoT, and real■time analytics.
82. How do you launch an Amazon RDS DB instance? Explain the configuration options.
Answer: To launch an RDS instance, choose an engine like MySQL, then select instance size and
allocated storage. Configure VPC, subnet group, and security groups. Set master username and
password. Enable automatic backups and Multi■AZ if needed. Finally launch the instance, after
which it can be connected using its endpoint.
83. What is the difference between Amazon Aurora and traditional MySQL/PostgreSQL?
Answer: Aurora provides faster performance than MySQL/PostgreSQL due to distributed storage
and automatic scaling. It offers up to 15 read replicas and supports self-healing storage. Aurora
reduces failover time and provides better reliability and performance for enterprise workloads.
84. Explain the concept of eventual consistency in DynamoDB.
Answer: Eventual consistency means updates in a distributed database take time to replicate
across all nodes. DynamoDB uses eventual consistency for faster performance, though strongly
consistent reads are also available when immediate accuracy is needed.
85. Design a highly available database architecture using RDS Multi-AZ and Read Replicas.
Answer: A high■availability database architecture uses Multi■AZ deployment for failover and Read
Replicas for scaling. The primary DB handles writes, while replicas handle read traffic. If the primary
fails, AWS automatically promotes the standby instance. This ensures uptime, reliability, and better
performance across workloads.