DBS-C01 Management and Operations Practice Question
A company runs an Amazon Aurora MySQL DB cluster with one writer and two readers. The application experiences increased read latency. The DBA wants to offload read traffic from the writer instance. Which configuration change should be made to the application?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse the cluster endpoint (which always points to the writer) with the reader endpoint, assuming the cluster endpoint can handle both reads and writes without performance impact, but the writer instance is a single point of contention for read traffic.
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
✓
Modify the application to use the reader endpoint for read queries.
The reader endpoint for an Aurora MySQL cluster automatically load-balances read-only connections across all available reader instances. By modifying the application to use the reader endpoint for read queries, read traffic is offloaded from the writer instance, reducing read latency on the writer. This is the standard AWS-recommended pattern for separating read and write workloads in Aurora.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Modify the application to use an individual instance endpoint for each reader.
Why it's wrong here
This would not provide load balancing without custom logic.
- ✗
Create a custom endpoint that includes both writer and readers.
Why it's wrong here
A custom endpoint can include readers, but the reader endpoint is already available.
- ✓
Modify the application to use the reader endpoint for read queries.
Why this is correct
The reader endpoint load balances across all read replicas.
- ✗
Modify the application to use the cluster endpoint for all queries.
Why it's wrong here
The cluster endpoint points to the writer, not appropriate for reads.
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