DBS-C01 Workload-Specific Database Design Practice Question
A company uses Amazon RDS for MySQL with a Multi-AZ deployment. During a recent failover, the application experienced a 2-minute downtime because it was connecting to the primary instance endpoint. The company needs to reduce failover downtime to under 30 seconds. What should be done?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers assume increasing instance size or using read replicas will speed up failover, but the real bottleneck is DNS propagation and the lack of an automatic redirect for the instance endpoint, which the cluster endpoint specifically addresses.
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
✓
Use the Multi-AZ DB cluster endpoint instead of the instance endpoint.
The Multi-AZ DB cluster endpoint provides a single DNS name that automatically routes connections to the current writer instance, eliminating the need for application-side reconnection logic. During a failover, the endpoint updates its DNS record to point to the new primary within seconds, reducing downtime to under 30 seconds. This is the recommended approach for minimizing failover disruption in Multi-AZ deployments.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Implement Amazon ElastiCache to cache database connections.
Why it's wrong here
Caching does not reduce failover downtime.
- ✓
Use the Multi-AZ DB cluster endpoint instead of the instance endpoint.
Why this is correct
Cluster endpoint automatically redirects to the new primary after failover.
- ✗
Increase the instance size to improve failover speed.
Why it's wrong here
Instance size does not affect failover time.
- ✗
Deploy a read replica and promote it manually during failover.
Why it's wrong here
Manual promotion takes time and is not automated.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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