The correct answer is to enable Amazon RDS Proxy for the database cluster. This resolves the 'Too many connections' error in Aurora MySQL by acting as a connection pooler, efficiently managing and reusing database connections from multi-threaded applications to prevent exhausting the 1000-connection limit on the writer instance. On the AWS Certified Database Specialty DBS-C01 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of connection management versus vertical scaling—a common trap is assuming you should increase max_connections, which can overload instance resources and degrade availability. Instead, RDS Proxy maintains high availability by reducing connection churn and seamlessly handling failover between the writer and readers. Memory tip: think “Proxy pools, not puffs”—RDS Proxy pools connections to prevent puffing up the instance with too many open links.
DBS-C01 Monitoring and Troubleshooting Practice Question
This DBS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of monitoring and troubleshooting. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 runs an Amazon Aurora MySQL database cluster with one writer and two readers. The application suddenly fails with 'Too many connections' error. The writer instance's maximum connections is set to 1000. Which configuration change would best resolve the issue while maintaining high availability?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Enable Amazon RDS Proxy for the database cluster.
Option D is correct because a multi-threaded application may exhaust connections; using a connection pooler like RDS Proxy reduces connection churn. Option A is wrong because increasing max_connections may overload the instance. Option B is wrong because read replicas do not accept writes. Option C is wrong because it's not a configuration change.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✓
Enable Amazon RDS Proxy for the database cluster.
Why this is correct
Correct. RDS Proxy efficiently manages database connections, reducing the number of open connections.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Increase the max_connections parameter on the writer instance to 5000.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Higher max_connections can lead to resource contention and does not address the underlying connection pattern.
✗
Redirect all write requests to one of the read replicas.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Read replicas do not accept write operations.
✗
Manually kill idle connections from the database.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. This is a temporary fix and not a configuration change.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which DBS-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Monitoring and Troubleshooting — This question tests Monitoring and Troubleshooting — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Enable Amazon RDS Proxy for the database cluster. — Option D is correct because a multi-threaded application may exhaust connections; using a connection pooler like RDS Proxy reduces connection churn. Option A is wrong because increasing max_connections may overload the instance. Option B is wrong because read replicas do not accept writes. Option C is wrong because it's not a configuration change.
What should I do if I get this DBS-C01 question wrong?
Identify which DBS-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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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.
Question Discussion
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