Q8 — AWS SAA-C03 Ch.17

Question 8 of 89 | ← Chapter 17

Q1308. A company is planning to migrate its business-critical applications from an on-premises data center to AWS. The company has an on-premises installation of a Microsoft SQL Server Always On cluster. The company wants to migrate to an AWS managed database service. A solutions architect must design a heterogeneous database migration on AWS.Which solution will meet these requirements?

Correct Answer: C. Use AWS Schema Conversion Tool(AWS SCT) to translate the database schema to Amazon RDS for MySQL. Then use AWS Database Migration Service(AWS DMS) to migrate the data from on-premises databases to Amazon RDS.

Explanation

Correct Answer: CUse AWS Schema Conversion Tool (AWS SCT) to translate the database schema to Amazon RDS for MySQL. Then use AWS Database Migration Service (AWS DMS) to migrate the data from on-premises databases to Amazon RDS.Why This Solution Meets the Requirements?The company needs to migrate a Microsoft SQL Server Always On cluster (a homogeneous SQL Server environment) to a heterogeneous AWS-managed database service (Amazon RDS for MySQL). This requires:Schema Conversion (SQL Server MySQL)Data Migration (with minimal downtime)AWS-Managed Service (RDS for MySQL)Option C is the only solution that addresses all these requirements:\1. AWS Schema Conversion Tool (AWS SCT)Converts the SQL Server schema (tables, views, stored procedures, functions) to MySQL-compatible syntax.Identifies potential compatibility issues (e.g., SQL Server-specific features not supported in MySQL). Generates a conversion assessment report to help resolve issues before migration.\2. AWS Database Migration Service (AWS DMS)Migrates data from the on-premises SQL Server to Amazon RDS for MySQL with minimal downtime (supports continuous replication).Supports heterogeneous migrations (SQL Server MySQL, Oracle PostgreSQL, etc.). Can be used for one-time migration or ongoing replication (for hybrid environments).\3. Amazon RDS for MySQLA fully managed MySQL-compatible database service, reducing operational overhead. Supports high availability, backups, and scaling without manual intervention.Why Other Options Fail?A. Migrate SQL Server to RDS for MySQL using backup/restore utilities Backup/restore utilities (e.g., mysqldump, SQL Server Backup/Restore) are homogeneous migration tools (SQL Server SQL Server or MySQL MySQL).Cannot convert schema or data types between different database engines (SQL Server MySQL).Not suitable for heterogeneous migrations.B. Use AWS Snowball Edge + S3 + BULK INSERTSnowball Edge is for large-scale data transfer (petabytes), but does not handle schema conversion. BULK INSERT (SQL Server feature) can load data from S3, but does not convert schema or handle data type mismatches.Not a structured migration approach--requires manual schema adjustments.D. Use AWS DataSync + S3 + BULK INSERTDataSync is for file-based transfers (NFS, SMB, S3), not database migrations. BULK INSERT suffers the same limitations as in Option B--no schema conversion.Not suitable for structured database migration.Correct Migration Workflow (Option C)Assess & Convert SchemaUse AWS SCT to analyze the SQL Server schema and generate a MySQL-compatible version. Resolve any compatibility issues (e.g., replacing SQL Server TOP with MySQL LIMIT).Set Up Target DatabaseLaunch Amazon RDS for MySQL with the desired instance type and storage.Migrate Data with Minimal DowntimeUse AWS DMS to replicate data from SQL Server to RDS for MySQL. Perform a final cutover when the replication lag is negligible.Validate & OptimizeTest the application with the new MySQL database.Optimize queries and indexes for MySQL performance.Key TakeawaysHeterogeneous migrations require schema conversion (AWS SCT). AWS DMS is the best tool for low-downtime database migration. Avoid backup/restore, Snowball, or DataSync for structured database migrations.This approach ensures a smooth, secure, and efficient migration from SQL Server to RDS for MySQL.