- A
Deploy a Multi-AZ instance without read replicas.
Why wrong: No read scaling.
- B
Deploy a Multi-AZ instance and create read replicas.
Multi-AZ for HA, read replicas for read scaling.
- C
Deploy a Single-AZ instance with a Multi-AZ read replica.
Why wrong: Multi-AZ read replicas don't exist; read replicas are single-AZ.
- D
Deploy a Single-AZ instance and use ElastiCache for caching.
Why wrong: Caching helps but does not provide high availability.
Question 1,237 of 1,730
DBS-C01 Deployment and Migration Practice Question
This DBS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of deployment and migration. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 is deploying a new web application on Amazon RDS for MySQL and expects read-heavy traffic. The database must be highly available. Which deployment approach meets these requirements?
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
✓
Deploy a Multi-AZ instance and create read replicas.
Option B is correct because deploying a Multi-AZ RDS for MySQL instance provides automatic failover for high availability, while adding read replicas offloads read-heavy traffic from the primary instance, improving read scalability. Read replicas can be placed in different Availability Zones to further enhance resilience and read performance.
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.
- ✗
Deploy a Multi-AZ instance without read replicas.
Why it's wrong here
No read scaling.
- ✓
Deploy a Multi-AZ instance and create read replicas.
Why this is correct
Multi-AZ for HA, read replicas for read scaling.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Deploy a Single-AZ instance with a Multi-AZ read replica.
Why it's wrong here
Multi-AZ read replicas don't exist; read replicas are single-AZ.
- ✗
Deploy a Single-AZ instance and use ElastiCache for caching.
Why it's wrong here
Caching helps but does not provide high availability.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Multi-AZ standby replicas with read replicas, not realizing that Multi-AZ standby instances cannot serve read traffic, so they fail to address the read-heavy requirement without additional read replicas.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In Amazon RDS for MySQL, Multi-AZ deployments use synchronous replication to a standby instance in a different Availability Zone, with automatic failover handled by DNS changes (CNAME flip). Read replicas use asynchronous replication (MySQL's native binlog-based replication) and can be promoted to standalone instances, but they do not automatically become the primary during a failover. For read-heavy workloads, combining Multi-AZ for HA with read replicas for scaling is a common pattern, and read replicas can also be placed in different regions for disaster recovery.
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.
TExam Day Tips
- 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.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this DBS-C01 question test?
Deployment and Migration — This question tests Deployment and Migration — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Deploy a Multi-AZ instance and create read replicas. — Option B is correct because deploying a Multi-AZ RDS for MySQL instance provides automatic failover for high availability, while adding read replicas offloads read-heavy traffic from the primary instance, improving read scalability. Read replicas can be placed in different Availability Zones to further enhance resilience and read performance.
What should I do if I get this DBS-C01 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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.
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