DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
A data engineer needs to set up a new Amazon RDS for MySQL database for a web application. The application experiences variable read traffic and requires low read latency. The engineer needs to minimize downtime during maintenance and provide read scalability. Which configuration meets these requirements?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates assume Multi-AZ alone provides read scalability, but Multi-AZ only provides high availability and failover, not read offloading—Read Replicas are required for read scaling.
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 db.r5.large instance with two Read Replicas
A Multi-AZ deployment provides high availability and automatic failover to minimize downtime during maintenance, while adding two Read Replicas offloads read traffic from the primary instance, reducing read latency and enabling read scalability. The db.r5.large instance size is sufficient for the variable read workload, and Read Replicas can be promoted to standalone instances if needed.
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 db.r5.large instance with two Read Replicas
Why this is correct
Multi-AZ provides failover, and Read Replicas provide read scalability.
- ✗
Multi-AZ db.r5.large instance
Why it's wrong here
Multi-AZ provides failover but not read scaling.
- ✗
Single-AZ db.r5.large instance
Why it's wrong here
Single-AZ does not provide automatic failover or read scaling.
- ✗
Single-AZ db.r5.xlarge instance
Why it's wrong here
Single-AZ does not provide failover, and a larger instance alone does not provide read scaling.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This DEA-C01 question is part of Courseiva's 1,711-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Same concept, more angles
2 more ways this is tested on DEA-C01
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company is using an Amazon RDS for MySQL database for an e-commerce application. During a sales event, the database experiences high read traffic, causing slow query performance. The company wants to reduce the read load on the primary database without changing the application code. Which solution meets these requirements?
medium- A.Enable Multi-AZ on the RDS instance.
- ✓ B.Create an Amazon RDS read replica and direct read traffic to it.
- C.Increase the instance size of the RDS database.
- D.Deploy Amazon ElastiCache to cache query results.
Why B: An Amazon RDS read replica is a read-only copy of the primary database that can offload read traffic without requiring any application code changes. By directing read queries to the replica, the primary database's load is reduced, improving performance during high-read events. This solution is specifically designed for read-heavy workloads and integrates seamlessly with existing MySQL connections.
Variation 2. A company runs a critical application on Amazon RDS for MySQL. To ensure high availability and automatic failover, the database is deployed as a Multi-AZ DB instance. The application uses read-heavy workloads. Which additional configuration should be used to offload read traffic without impacting write performance?
medium- A.Use the Multi-AZ standby instance for read queries.
- ✓ B.Create one or more Read Replicas in different AZs.
- C.Use Amazon ElastiCache to cache read queries.
- D.Change to a Single-AZ deployment with a larger instance size.
Why B: Amazon RDS Read Replicas are designed to offload read traffic from the primary DB instance without affecting write performance. Unlike the Multi-AZ standby instance, which is not accessible for reads, Read Replicas can be placed in different Availability Zones and serve read queries independently, improving read scalability while the primary handles writes.
JA
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.