This DBS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of workload-specific database design. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company uses Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL for its e-commerce platform. The application team reports increasing read latency on the primary instance during sales events. Which action should be taken to reduce read load on the primary?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "primary"
Why it matters: Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
Enable Multi-AZ deployment
Why wrong: Multi-AZ provides standby for failover, not read scaling.
Migrate to Amazon DynamoDB
Why wrong: Migration is disruptive and not necessary.
Create one or more read replicas
Read replicas offload read queries from primary.
Increase the instance size of the primary
Why wrong: Scaling up helps but read replicas are more cost-effective.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Create one or more read replicas
Creating one or more read replicas offloads read traffic from the primary RDS for PostgreSQL instance, directly addressing the increased read latency during sales events. Read replicas are asynchronous replicas that can serve SELECT queries, reducing the load on the primary without requiring application changes to the write path. This is the standard AWS solution for scaling read-heavy workloads in RDS.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Enable Multi-AZ deployment
Why it's wrong here
Multi-AZ provides standby for failover, not read scaling.
Migrate to Amazon DynamoDB
Why it's wrong here
Migration is disruptive and not necessary.
Create one or more read replicas
Why this is correct
Read replicas offload read queries from primary.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "primary" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Increase the instance size of the primary
Why it's wrong here
Scaling up helps but read replicas are more cost-effective.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Multi-AZ with read replicas, assuming the standby in a Multi-AZ deployment can serve reads, but in RDS for PostgreSQL the standby is not accessible for read traffic—only Oracle and SQL Server Multi-AZ deployments offer readable standbys under specific configurations.
Detailed technical explanation
RDS for PostgreSQL read replicas use PostgreSQL's native streaming replication protocol (WAL-based) to maintain an asynchronous copy of the primary. The replica can be promoted to a primary if needed, but during normal operation it accepts read-only connections, allowing you to distribute SELECT-heavy workloads. In a sales event, you can also create cross-Region read replicas for geographic read scaling, but the key behavior is that the replica lags behind the primary by milliseconds to seconds, so applications must tolerate eventual consistency for read queries routed to replicas.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
What to study next
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FAQ
Workload-Specific Database Design — This question tests Workload-Specific Database Design — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Create one or more read replicas — Creating one or more read replicas offloads read traffic from the primary RDS for PostgreSQL instance, directly addressing the increased read latency during sales events. Read replicas are asynchronous replicas that can serve SELECT queries, reducing the load on the primary without requiring application changes to the write path. This is the standard AWS solution for scaling read-heavy workloads in RDS.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Yes — watch for: "primary". Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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