DBS-C01 Management and Operations Practice Question
A database engineer is troubleshooting an Amazon Aurora MySQL DB cluster that is experiencing frequent failovers. The failovers are occurring during periods of low write activity. The engineer notices that the primary instance's writer endpoint is being used for read traffic from a legacy application. What is the most likely cause of the failovers?
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 primary instance is overloaded due to read traffic from the writer endpoint
Using the writer endpoint for read traffic can overload the primary instance, leading to resource contention and failovers even during low write activity. Option A is incorrect because replication lag is not a direct cause of failovers; failovers are typically due to primary instance issues. Option B is incorrect because a long-running write transaction would not cause failovers during low write activity; it might cause replication lag but not failover. Option C is incorrect because insufficient storage for the Aurora cluster volume would cause storage-related errors, not failovers; Aurora automatically scales storage.
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 high replication lag between the primary and replica instances
Why it's wrong here
Replication lag typically affects read replicas, not failovers.
- ✗
A long-running write transaction is blocking the failover
Why it's wrong here
Long-running writes can delay failovers but are not the cause.
- ✗
Insufficient storage for the Aurora cluster volume
Why it's wrong here
Aurora automatically scales storage, so storage is unlikely.
- ✓
The primary instance is overloaded due to read traffic from the writer endpoint
Why this is correct
Directing read traffic to the writer endpoint increases load, leading to failovers.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This DBS-C01 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the DBS-C01 exam.