DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
A company has an Amazon RDS for MySQL DB instance with read replicas. The primary DB instance fails. What is the correct procedure to promote a read replica to become the new primary?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse read replicas with Multi-AZ standby instances, assuming automatic failover applies to both, but RDS read replicas require manual promotion and do not provide automatic failover.
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
✓
Manually promote the read replica to a standalone DB instance.
When an Amazon RDS for MySQL primary DB instance fails, read replicas do not automatically become the new primary. The correct procedure is to manually promote the read replica using the AWS Management Console, CLI, or API, which converts it into a standalone DB instance. After promotion, you must update your application endpoints to point to the new primary, as RDS does not handle this automatically.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Modify the read replica to be a Multi-AZ deployment and failover will occur.
Why it's wrong here
Modifying a read replica to Multi-AZ creates a standby, not a promotion path; failover applies to the primary's own standby. It is tempting because Multi-AZ failover is the standard resilience mechanism, but promotion requires promoting the replica directly.
- ✗
RDS automatically fails over to the read replica within 5 minutes.
Why it's wrong here
RDS automatic failover applies to Multi-AZ standby instances, not read replicas; read replicas require manual promotion. The option is tempting because failover is automatic in Multi-AZ deployments, but a read replica is a separate, independently promoted resource.
- ✓
Manually promote the read replica to a standalone DB instance.
Why this is correct
Promoting a read replica manually converts it into a standalone DB instance, which is the only supported route when the primary fails without Multi-AZ. The stem specifies RDS for MySQL with read replicas, so no automatic failover exists; you must trigger promotion yourself to restore write capability.
- ✗
Delete the primary and the read replica will automatically become the primary.
Why it's wrong here
Deleting the primary does not trigger read replica promotion; replicas remain replicas and the database becomes unavailable. Automatic promotion is tempting because Multi-AZ standbys do take over, but read replicas require an explicit promote action, not deletion of the source instance.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This DEA-C01 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 DEA-C01 exam.