DBS-C01 Workload-Specific Database Design Practice Question
Network Topology
A company is running an Oracle database on Amazon RDS with the configuration shown in the exhibit. The application is experiencing high latency for write operations. The storage is consistently showing high queue depth and write latency. Which change will most improve write performance?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to assume increasing storage size (Option A) or instance class (Option C) will fix I/O bottlenecks, but the real constraint is the gp2 burst model and insufficient provisioned IOPS for sustained write-heavy workloads.
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
✓
Migrate to io1 or io2 storage with higher provisioned IOPS.
Migrating to io1 or io2 block storage with higher provisioned IOPS directly addresses the root cause of high queue depth and write latency. Unlike gp2, which has a baseline IOPS of 3 per GB (up to 16,000 IOPS at 5,334 GB) and a burst bucket that depletes under sustained load, io1/io2 provide consistent, provisioned IOPS independent of volume size. This ensures the storage subsystem can keep up with the write workload, reducing queue depth and latency.
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 allocated storage to 1,000 GB to get higher gp2 baseline IOPS.
Why it's wrong here
gp2 baseline IOPS increase linearly with size but may still be insufficient for high write workloads.
- ✗
Enable storage auto scaling and increase storage throughput to 500 MB/s.
Why it's wrong here
RDS does not have a separate storage throughput setting; it is tied to IOPS and volume type.
- ✗
Change the DB instance class to db.r5.2xlarge.
Why it's wrong here
Instance class does not affect storage throughput directly.
- ✓
Migrate to io1 or io2 storage with higher provisioned IOPS.
Why this is correct
Provisioned IOPS storage provides consistent low-latency performance for write-intensive workloads.
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