- A
Multi-AZ deployment only
Why wrong: A Multi-AZ deployment provides automatic failover to a standby in a different Availability Zone, but the standby is not active for reads; it only takes over on failure. This does not offload read queries.
- B
Read Replicas only
Why wrong: Read Replicas provide a separate read-only endpoint to offload SELECT queries, but they do not provide automatic failover. If the primary database fails, you must manually promote a Read Replica, which incurs downtime.
- C
Multi-AZ deployment with one or more Read Replicas
A Multi-AZ deployment ensures high availability with automatic failover to a standby in a different AZ. Adding Read Replicas offloads read traffic from the primary instance, reducing its load. Both features can be combined.
- D
Cross-Region Read Replicas only
Why wrong: Cross-Region Read Replicas provide read scaling and disaster recovery across AWS Regions, but they do not provide automatic failover in the primary region. If the primary database fails, you would still need to manually promote a replica, and the solution does not address high availability within a single region.
Quick Answer
The answer is a combination of Multi-AZ deployment and Read Replicas. Multi-AZ provides automatic failover by synchronously replicating data to a standby instance in a different Availability Zone, ensuring high availability if the primary fails, while Read Replicas asynchronously offload read queries to a separate database endpoint, relieving the primary from heavy SELECT traffic. On the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner CLF-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how to separate availability from performance—a common trap is assuming Multi-AZ alone handles read scaling, but it only provides failover, not read offloading. Remember the key distinction: Multi-AZ is for automatic failover and high availability, while Read Replicas are for read scaling. A useful memory tip is "Failover with Multi-AZ, offload reads with Replicas."
CLF-C02 Cloud Technology and Services Practice Question
This CLF-C02 practice question tests your understanding of cloud technology and services. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company runs a customer relationship management (CRM) application on a single Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL instance. The application experiences heavy read traffic during business hours, often causing the primary database to become overloaded with SELECT queries. The company needs a solution that offloads read queries to a separate database endpoint and provides automatic failover to a standby database in a different Availability Zone if the primary fails. Which combination of Amazon RDS features should the company use to meet these requirements?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"primary"Why it matters: Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Multi-AZ deployment with one or more Read Replicas
Option C is correct because it combines Multi-AZ deployment for automatic failover to a standby in a different Availability Zone with Read Replicas to offload SELECT queries to a separate database endpoint. Multi-AZ ensures high availability by synchronously replicating data to a standby instance, while Read Replicas asynchronously replicate data to handle read-heavy traffic without burdening the primary.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Multi-AZ deployment only
Why it's wrong here
A Multi-AZ deployment provides automatic failover to a standby in a different Availability Zone, but the standby is not active for reads; it only takes over on failure. This does not offload read queries.
- ✗
Read Replicas only
Why it's wrong here
Read Replicas provide a separate read-only endpoint to offload SELECT queries, but they do not provide automatic failover. If the primary database fails, you must manually promote a Read Replica, which incurs downtime.
- ✓
Multi-AZ deployment with one or more Read Replicas
Why this is correct
A Multi-AZ deployment ensures high availability with automatic failover to a standby in a different AZ. Adding Read Replicas offloads read traffic from the primary instance, reducing its load. Both features can be combined.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "primary" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Cross-Region Read Replicas only
Why it's wrong here
Cross-Region Read Replicas provide read scaling and disaster recovery across AWS Regions, but they do not provide automatic failover in the primary region. If the primary database fails, you would still need to manually promote a replica, and the solution does not address high availability within a single region.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume Multi-AZ alone can handle read offloading because the standby is available, but AWS explicitly prevents reads from the Multi-AZ standby to maintain consistency, making Read Replicas necessary for read scaling.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Multi-AZ uses synchronous replication to a standby instance in a different AZ, with automatic DNS failover in under 60 seconds during primary failure. Read Replicas use asynchronous replication (based on PostgreSQL streaming replication) and can be promoted to standalone instances, but they do not provide automatic failover without manual intervention or additional configuration like a Multi-AZ deployment.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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Cloud Technology and Services — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this CLF-C02 question test?
Cloud Technology and Services — This question tests Cloud Technology and Services — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Multi-AZ deployment with one or more Read Replicas — Option C is correct because it combines Multi-AZ deployment for automatic failover to a standby in a different Availability Zone with Read Replicas to offload SELECT queries to a separate database endpoint. Multi-AZ ensures high availability by synchronously replicating data to a standby instance, while Read Replicas asynchronously replicate data to handle read-heavy traffic without burdening the primary.
What should I do if I get this CLF-C02 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "primary". Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
This CLF-C02 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CLF-C02 exam.
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