DBS-C01 Multi-AZ failover Practice Question
A company is running an Amazon RDS for SQL Server Multi-AZ DB instance. During a recent failover test, the application experienced a timeout of 60 seconds. The application uses a connection string that points to the CNAME of the DB instance. Which configuration change would reduce the failover time?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates may think that modifying the connection string to use IP address or disabling Multi-AZ would reduce failover time, but these are incorrect because they either prevent automatic failover or cause connection failures.
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
✓
Enable TDS Keep-Alive on the client side to detect and recover from connection drops faster.
Enable TDS Keep-Alive on the client side. This allows the client to detect connection drops faster and reconnect to the new primary during failover, reducing the timeout experienced. Option A (Create a read replica and promote it) is a manual process and does not reduce failover time; it is used for read scaling or disaster recovery. Option B (Using the IP address) is not recommended because the IP changes after failover; the CNAME automatically updates to point to the new primary, so using IP would cause longer outages. Option D (Disable Multi-AZ) would eliminate automatic failover, increasing downtime during failures.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Create a read replica and promote it to a standalone instance during failover.
Why it's wrong here
Manual promotion would increase downtime, not reduce it.
- ✗
Modify the application to use the IP address of the DB instance instead of the CNAME.
Why it's wrong here
Using IP addresses is not recommended and does not reduce failover time; the CNAME is updated during failover.
- ✓
Enable TDS Keep-Alive on the client side to detect and recover from connection drops faster.
Why this is correct
TDS Keep-Alive helps the client detect a broken connection sooner and reconnect to the new primary, reducing perceived downtime.
- ✗
Disable Multi-AZ and use a single-AZ instance to avoid failover overhead.
Why it's wrong here
Disabling Multi-AZ removes high availability, which is not acceptable for a production environment.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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