Migrating an Aurora MySQL cluster to another account with minimal interruption

SAP-C02 By islever Editorial Last updated

Determine the optimal migration approach for existing workloads.

Short answer

AB Share an Aurora snapshot with the new account and use AWS DMS to migrate data; both are valid strategies that minimize interruption before DNS cutover.

Question

A company wants to migrate an Amazon Aurora MySQL DB cluster from an existing AWS account to a new AWS account in the same AWS Region. Both accounts are members of the same organization in AWS Organizations. The company must minimize database service interruption before the company performs DNS cutover to the new database. Which migration strategy will meet this requirement? (Choose two.)
  1. Take a snapshot of the existing Aurora database. Share the snapshot with the new AWS account. Create an Aurora DB cluster in the new account from the snapshot. Correct Answer
  2. Create an Aurora DB cluster in the new AWS account. Use AWS Database Migration Service (AWS DMS) to migrate data between the two Aurora DB clusters. Correct Answer
  3. Use AWS Backup to share an Aurora database backup from the existing AWS account to the new AWS account. Create an Aurora DB cluster in the new AWS account from the snapshot.
  4. Create an Aurora DB cluster in the new AWS account. Use AWS Application Migration Service to migrate data between the two Aurora DB clusters.

Key Takeaways

The question asks for two strategies, not a conjoined pipeline; both an account-shared Aurora snapshot and AWS DMS are independently valid ways to move the data with minimal downtime before cutover.

To move an Aurora MySQL cluster to a new account in the same Region with minimal interruption before DNS cutover, two valid standalone strategies are sharing an Aurora snapshot with the new account and using AWS DMS to replicate data into a new cluster.

Common mistake: Assuming only one answer is correct — the 'Choose two' framing accepts two separate valid migration approaches (A and B) rather than a single combined method.

Expert Analysis

Why the Answer Is Correct

Option A snapshots the existing Aurora cluster, shares the snapshot with the new account, and restores a cluster there — a clean, low-interruption copy. Option B provisions a new cluster in the new account and uses AWS DMS to migrate the data. Both satisfy 'minimize interruption before DNS cutover' as standalone strategies.

Why the Other Options Are Wrong

Option C relies on AWS Backup sharing, which is less direct for an active Aurora migration than a native snapshot share. Option D (Application Migration Service) is for server/VM replication, not database migration, and is not appropriate for Aurora.

Community Comment Notes

Dgix (likes 2) clarifies that the two choices need not work in conjunction — B is best but A also stands, so A+B. The vote is AB (71) over B alone (29). GabrielShiao argues only B, but A is a legitimate snapshot-based path.

Official Reference

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/dms/latest/userguide/Welcome.html

This link opens the official vendor documentation in a new tab.

Community Votes

AB
71%
B
29%

71% of anonymous learners picked answer AB. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.

Discussion 11 contributions

Compiled from public community threads and reader submissions, lightly edited for clarity. Handles and vote tallies are shown as recorded, and comments reflect the views of individual contributors.

From public community threads 11

  1. HunkyBunky 👍 3
    I guess that the right answer - A \ B A - Snapshots can be easily shared cross AWS accounts B - With AWS DMS - you can sync databases C - Out because - as I understood - you can't just SHARE AWS Backup with another AWS Account, you need to setup cross account AWS backup to store backups in both accounts D - Out because AWS Application migration service - can't migrate RDS databases
  2. bjexamprep 👍 3 Answered B
    This question should have a single answer. A and C are both using a kind of back/restore strategy, and they cannot capture the changes happens during the restore stage. D is using Application Migration Service, which is not suitable for DB migration. Only B can do this job.
  3. kejam 👍 2
    Answer AB: A is unnecessary, we really only need B. It works either way. https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/database/cross-account-amazon-aurora-postgresql-and-amazon-rds-for-postgresql-migration-with-reduced-downtime-using-aws-dms/
  4. Dgix 👍 2
    The question says to choose two alternatives - but it doesn't say that they must work in conjunction. I.e., separate answers that stand on their own. B is best, but A works too. Thus A+B.
  5. GabrielShiao 👍 2
    The only correct answer is B, Selecting A is to meet the question. A is not right because it will lose a certain period of data.
Show 6 more comments
  1. juanife 👍 1
    I do not know why AWS writes its questions so badly. The question asks for a conjuntion answer and then they give us TOTALLY different answers that do not work together. For me, it's B without any doubts since AWS DMS allows us to migrate while reducing the interrumption on the source to be migrated and A could be an option as well but it obviously allows us to move certain amount of data until a certain point of time.
  2. 07c2d2a 👍 1
    This really should be a single answer, or it should say which solutions would meet this requirement. But yes A and B are both possible.
  3. master9 👍 1
    have to us DMS or snapshot for DB migration
  4. career360guru 👍 1
    A and B both are valid options.
  5. alexis123456 👍 3
    correct answer is A and B
  6. trungtd 👍 2 Answered B
    A is unnecessary

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