Question 51 of 1,663
DBS-C01 Aurora Reader Endpoint Practice Question
A gaming company uses Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL for its leaderboard data. The database has a writer instance and two reader instances. The application frequently queries the leaderboard to display top players. The queries involve sorting and aggregation on a large table with millions of rows. Recently, the queries started timing out during peak hours. The database administrator analyzed the workload and found that the reader instances are underutilized, while the writer instance has high CPU due to write operations. The administrator wants to offload the read-heavy leaderboard queries to the readers without modifying the application code. What should the administrator do?
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
✓
Configure the application to use the Aurora reader endpoint for read-only queries.
The Amazon Aurora reader endpoint automatically distributes read-only connections across all available reader instances. Since the reader instances are underutilized, using the reader endpoint offloads the read-heavy leaderboard queries from the writer instance without any application code modifications. Option B is incorrect because upgrading the writer instance does not offload read queries and does not utilize the underutilized readers. Option C is incorrect because the existing readers are underutilized; adding more readers would not solve the problem of directing queries to them. Option D is incorrect because creating a separate read-only Aurora cluster is unnecessary and more complex than using the existing reader endpoint.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Configure the application to use the Aurora reader endpoint for read-only queries.
Why this is correct
The reader endpoint load balances across readers, offloading reads from the writer.
- ✗
Upgrade the writer instance to a larger instance class to handle both read and write operations.
Why it's wrong here
Upgrading the writer does not offload reads; it only increases capacity.
- ✗
Create additional reader instances to distribute the read load.
Why it's wrong here
Adding more readers may help, but the application still needs to direct traffic to them.
- ✗
Implement a read-only Aurora cluster and point read queries to it.
Why it's wrong here
Creating a separate cluster is unnecessary; the existing readers can be used.
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Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on DBS-C01
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company runs an Amazon Aurora MySQL database with read replicas to handle read traffic. During a recent load test, the primary instance CPU utilization reached 90%, but read replicas remained below 50%. The application uses a custom ORM that connects to a single endpoint. Which change will best distribute read traffic?
medium- ✓ A.Configure the application to use the Aurora reader endpoint for read queries.
- B.Use Amazon RDS Proxy with read/write splitting.
- C.Place the read replicas behind an Application Load Balancer.
- D.Enable Aurora Auto Scaling for replicas and use the cluster endpoint for both read and write.
Why A: The Aurora reader endpoint automatically load balances SELECT queries across all read replicas, distributing read traffic effectively. Option B is incorrect: Amazon RDS Proxy provides connection pooling but does not split read/write traffic; it uses the cluster endpoint, which directs to the primary instance. Option C is incorrect: Aurora read replicas are not standard EC2 instances and cannot be placed behind an Application Load Balancer; the reader endpoint is the intended mechanism. Option D is incorrect: The cluster endpoint always points to the primary instance, so using it for reads would not distribute load; Aurora Auto Scaling adds replicas, but they are only utilized when the reader endpoint is used.
Last reviewed: Jun 20, 2026
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