How to Improve RDS Read Performance with Replicas and RDS Proxy
A company uses Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL for its CRM application. The application experiences intermittent spikes in read traffic. Which TWO actions can the company take to improve read scalability with minimal application changes?
Quick Answer
The correct answer is to create read replicas and enable Amazon RDS Proxy. Read replicas directly improve RDS read scalability without application changes by offloading SELECT-heavy traffic from the primary PostgreSQL instance, as they are asynchronous copies that can serve read queries independently. RDS Proxy further enhances this by efficiently managing database connections, reducing connection overhead and smoothing out traffic spikes without requiring code modifications. On the AWS Certified Database Specialty DBS-C01 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of scaling strategies that avoid application refactoring—a common trap is assuming you must rewrite queries or implement caching, when in fact read replicas plus a proxy handle the load transparently. Remember the memory tip: "Replicas for reads, Proxy for speed" — replicas distribute the read workload, while the proxy pools connections to handle bursty traffic, together delivering scalable performance with zero code changes.
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse Multi-AZ (which provides failover but no read scaling) with read replicas, or assume that scaling up the instance class is the only way to handle read spikes, ignoring the horizontal scaling benefit of read replicas with minimal application changes.
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
✓
Create one or more read replicas in the same region.
Creating read replicas in Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL offloads read traffic from the primary DB instance, directly addressing intermittent read spikes with minimal application changes. Read replicas are asynchronous replicas that can serve read queries, and the application only needs to update its connection string to point to the replica endpoint for read operations.
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 Multi-AZ deployment for automatic failover.
Why it's wrong here
Multi-AZ provides HA, not read scaling.
- ✗
Migrate to Amazon Aurora and enable Auto Scaling.
Why it's wrong here
Requires migration effort.
- ✓
Create one or more read replicas in the same region.
Why this is correct
Read replicas handle read traffic without application changes.
- ✗
Upgrade to a larger DB instance class.
Why it's wrong here
Vertical scaling has limits and is not elastic.
- ✓
Enable Amazon RDS Proxy to manage database connections.
Why this is correct
RDS Proxy reduces connection churn and improves scalability.
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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 is running a MySQL database on Amazon RDS for a web application. The application experiences read-heavy traffic, and the company wants to improve read performance without changing the application code. Which design should the database specialist recommend?
easy- A.Implement an Amazon ElastiCache Redis cluster in front of the database.
- ✓ B.Create one or more read replicas of the RDS DB instance.
- C.Increase the instance size of the RDS DB instance.
- D.Enable DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) for the RDS instance.
Why B: Amazon RDS read replicas allow you to offload read traffic from the primary DB instance without any application code changes. The application simply connects to the read replica endpoint(s) for SELECT queries, while writes continue to the primary instance. This directly addresses the read-heavy workload by distributing read requests across multiple copies of the database.
JA
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.