A county clerk must move an on-premises Oracle licensing database to Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL with schema conversion and ongoing replication until cutover. Which AWS approach fits this heterogeneous migration?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
Changing engines is like translating a city ordinance from one legal code to another—you need a translator and a moving crew. SCT helps convert the schema; DMS moves and syncs the data until cutover.
Full Explanation
Moving a county clerk’s on-premises Oracle licensing database to Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL is a heterogeneous migration: the engine family changes, so schemas, data types, and SQL dialects must be translated—not merely copied as files. The AWS pattern that fits is AWS Schema Conversion Tool (SCT) to assess and convert the Oracle schema toward Aurora PostgreSQL, combined with AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) to migrate data and keep ongoing replication until cutover. That pairing lets the clerk’s office run dual systems long enough to validate reports, fee calculations, and integrations, then switch with a controlled freeze window instead of a risky big-bang retype.
Creating an empty Aurora cluster and retyping every table by hand without tooling ignores scale and introduces transcription risk on licensing records that may be legally sensitive. AWS DataSync alone copies files efficiently but does not convert Oracle SQL objects into PostgreSQL; file transfer is not schema translation. Taking Oracle RMAN backups into DynamoDB and rewriting the application for key-value access abandons the relational licensing model the business already depends on and turns a database migration into an unnecessary application rewrite.
Exam caveat: SCT reports actions that need manual remediation—heterogeneous migrations are rarely zero-touch. DMS continuous replication helps cutover, but you must still plan primary keys, LOBs, supplemental logging, and validation queries. Homogeneous Oracle-to-Oracle on RDS/EC2 would use different tooling emphasis; this stem is explicitly Oracle to Aurora PostgreSQL.
Operational check: run SCT assessment on a licensing schema sample and clear conversion issues; configure DMS full load plus CDC into Aurora PostgreSQL; compare row counts and checksum spot-checks on fee and license tables; rehearse cutover (stop writes, final sync, flip connection strings), and confirm clerk reports match pre-migration baselines before decommissioning Oracle.