Databases
25 questions about databases (RDS, Aurora, DynamoDB, ElastiCache, Redshift, DocumentDB, Neptune) for exam preparation.
A company runs an e-commerce application with unpredictable traffic spikes. The MySQL RDS database experiences high read load that degrades performance during sales. Which solution improves read performance with LEAST operational overhead?
Category: Design High-Performing Architectures
Explanation
Detailed breakdown of the correct answer
RDS Read Replicas
RDS Read Replicas allow horizontally scaling read workloads by creating read-only copies of the database.
You can create up to 5 Read Replicas per primary instance, each with its own DNS endpoint. Applications can distribute read queries across replicas while the primary instance handles writes.
Therefore, the correct answer is: Create multiple Read Replicas and distribute read traffic.
The option that says: Increase instance size is incorrect because it scales vertically (more expensive) and will eventually hit limits, doesn't solve horizontal scaling.
The option that says: Migrate to db.t4g.micro is incorrect because it reduces capacity, not increases it. Burstable instances are for light, intermittent workloads.
The option that says: Enable Multi-AZ is incorrect because Multi-AZ is for high availability, doesn't distribute reads (only synchronous standby replica for failover).