This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data store management. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 is using Amazon RDS for MySQL with Multi-AZ deployment. The database experiences intermittent slowdowns during peak hours. The company's DevOps team suspects that the primary instance is overwhelmed. Which action should the team take to distribute the read load without changing the application code?
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 the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create a read replica and modify the connection string to point to the replica for read queries.
Creating a read replica and modifying the connection string to point to the replica for read queries (Option B) offloads read traffic from the primary RDS instance without requiring application code changes. This directly addresses the intermittent slowdowns during peak hours by distributing the read load, leveraging MySQL’s native replication to keep the replica synchronized. The key constraint is 'without changing the application code,' which is satisfied by simply updating the connection string in the application configuration.
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.
✗
Increase the instance size of the RDS instance.
Why it's wrong here
Increasing size helps performance but does not distribute read load; it vertically scales the single instance.
✓
Create a read replica and modify the connection string to point to the replica for read queries.
Why this is correct
Read replicas offload read traffic from the primary instance.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "primary" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Enable Multi-AZ on the existing instance.
Why it's wrong here
Multi-AZ provides failover support, not read scaling.
✗
Configure DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) in front of the RDS instance.
Why it's wrong here
DAX is for DynamoDB, not RDS MySQL.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse Multi-AZ with read replicas, assuming Multi-AZ can distribute read traffic, but in RDS for MySQL, the standby in a Multi-AZ deployment is not accessible for reads—it only provides failover support.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Amazon RDS read replicas use asynchronous replication based on MySQL’s native binlog replication, which can introduce replication lag (typically sub-second under normal load) that must be considered for read-after-write consistency. In a real-world scenario, if the application requires strongly consistent reads, the read replica approach may need application-level logic to route critical reads to the primary, but the question explicitly states 'without changing the application code,' so the connection string change is sufficient for read-heavy workloads that can tolerate eventual consistency.
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
A cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
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.
Data Store Management — This question tests Data Store Management — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create a read replica and modify the connection string to point to the replica for read queries. — Creating a read replica and modifying the connection string to point to the replica for read queries (Option B) offloads read traffic from the primary RDS instance without requiring application code changes. This directly addresses the intermittent slowdowns during peak hours by distributing the read load, leveraging MySQL’s native replication to keep the replica synchronized. The key constraint is 'without changing the application code,' which is satisfied by simply updating the connection string in the application configuration.
What should I do if I get this DEA-C01 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.
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Question Discussion
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