AWS DevOps Engineer Professional Practice Test

What must be done to share an automated snapshot of an RDS database with another account?

1. Send the snapshot directly via email

2. Copy the snapshot which turns it into a manual one

3. Share the snapshot URL

4. Modify the permissions of the automated snapshot

The correct answer is: Copy the snapshot which turns it into a manual one

To share an automated snapshot of an RDS database with another AWS account, it is necessary to first copy the snapshot, which then converts it into a manual snapshot. This manual snapshot can be shared with other accounts by modifying its permissions, allowing other AWS accounts to access the snapshot. Automated snapshots are managed by Amazon RDS, and they cannot be shared directly because they are tied to the account that created them and are subject to the rules and lifecycle policies established for automated backups. Once you create a manual copy of that automated snapshot, you can then adjust the permissions appropriately to allow the targeted AWS account to access and use the snapshot. This process ensures that you maintain control over your data while still providing a method for collaboration with other AWS accounts. The other options are not suitable for sharing RDS snapshots effectively: emailing a snapshot is impractical, sharing a snapshot URL doesn't permit access because URLs in this context don't provide the necessary sharing mechanisms, and modifying the permissions of the automated snapshot directly isn’t possible without first copying it.