A database runs on an EC2 instance with EBS volumes and is snapshotted nightly. The recovery plan says the database must be restorable in a second Region after an event that takes the primary Region out. Which step actually delivers that?
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02), objective 3. Cloud technology and services hard
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The options
Correct Copy the EBS snapshots to the second Region as part of the nightly job
Correct. Copying is an explicit, deliberate action, and it is the one that puts a usable copy outside the failure domain. A volume can then be created from the copied snapshot in that Region.
Not correct Nothing further: the nightly snapshots already provide it
Wrong, and this is the assumption that ruins recovery plans. Snapshots are stored in the Region where they were taken, so a Region-wide event removes the volumes and the snapshots together.
Not correct Enable EBS encryption on the volumes
Wrong. Encryption protects confidentiality if the data is read by the wrong party. It has no effect on where the data exists or whether it survives.
Not correct Attach the existing volumes to an instance in the second Region during the incident
Wrong on the mechanics. An EBS volume cannot even be attached across Availability Zones, let alone Regions — that is why the snapshot-and-copy path exists.
Why
EBS snapshots are incremental after the first, are stored durably by AWS inside the Region, and are the standard way to back up a volume or move one between Availability Zones. Cross-Region recovery is always an explicit copy, whatever the service: copy the snapshot, copy the AMI, replicate the bucket, create a cross-Region read replica. If a plan does not name the copying step, it is a plan to lose the backups with the primary.
Where this comes from
- Cited
- AWS exam guide task statement 3.6
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