DBS-C01 Workload-Specific Database Design Practice Question
A company is designing a new application that requires a relational database with sub-millisecond read latency for a global user base. The workload is read-heavy with occasional writes. Which database solution should they choose?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse DynamoDB with DAX (which offers sub-millisecond latency) as a relational database, but DynamoDB is NoSQL and does not support relational features like joins or ACID transactions across multiple tables.
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
✓
Amazon Aurora with Auto Scaling
Amazon Aurora with Auto Scaling is the correct choice because it provides a relational database (MySQL/PostgreSQL-compatible) with sub-millisecond read latency via its distributed storage layer and read replicas. The read-heavy workload benefits from Aurora's automatic scaling of read capacity, while occasional writes are efficiently handled by the cluster volume. Aurora's architecture decouples compute and storage, enabling fast failover and consistent performance for global users.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Amazon DynamoDB with DAX
Why it's wrong here
DynamoDB is a NoSQL database, not relational.
- ✗
Amazon RDS for MySQL with Multi-AZ
Why it's wrong here
Multi-AZ provides high availability, not sub-millisecond latency.
- ✓
Amazon Aurora with Auto Scaling
Why this is correct
Aurora provides low latency (single-digit ms) and is relational; Auto Scaling handles read scaling.
- ✗
Amazon ElastiCache for Redis
Why it's wrong here
ElastiCache is a caching layer, not a relational database.
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