Question 1,679 of 1,663
DBS-C01 Monitoring and Troubleshooting Practice Question
A company uses Amazon RDS for MySQL with Multi-AZ deployment. The database experiences intermittent write latency spikes. CloudWatch shows elevated 'WriteLatency' and 'WriteIOPS' but normal 'CPUUtilization'. Which is the MOST likely cause?
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
✓
The instance is exceeding the provisioned IOPS burst balance
Intermittent write latency spikes with high WriteIOPS and normal CPU utilization indicate storage performance issues. For RDS MySQL using gp2 or io1 storage, exceeding the provisioned IOPS burst balance (for gp2) or provisioned IOPS (for io1) causes throttling and increased latency. Option A is incorrect because parameter group changes require a reboot and affect all operations, not just intermittent writes. Option C is incorrect because read replicas are read-only and cannot be used for write operations. Option D is incorrect because Multi-AZ replication uses synchronous standby replication, which typically does not cause noticeable write latency spikes; latency from replication is usually minimal.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
A parameter group change was applied without rebooting
Why it's wrong here
Parameter changes require reboot and affect all operations, not intermittent.
- ✓
The instance is exceeding the provisioned IOPS burst balance
Why this is correct
When EBS burst balance depletes, write latency spikes occur even with low CPU.
- ✗
A read replica is being used for write operations
Why it's wrong here
Read replicas are for read traffic only; they don't affect write latency.
- ✗
Multi-AZ replication is causing synchronous writes to the standby
Why it's wrong here
Multi-AZ uses synchronous standby replication but does not cause intermittent write spikes.
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Last reviewed: Jun 20, 2026
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