The answer is to create one or more Aurora Replicas and route read traffic to them. This solution directly reduces CPU usage on the Amazon Aurora MySQL writer instance by offloading complex joins and aggregations to the replicas, which share the same underlying storage volume and serve read queries with minimal replication lag. On the AWS Certified Database Specialty DBS-C01 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of read scaling versus write scaling—a common trap is suggesting a larger instance type or read replicas from a different engine, but Aurora Replicas are the only option that requires no application code changes. Remember the key distinction: Aurora Replicas reduce CPU load on the writer by handling read-heavy workloads, while the writer focuses solely on write operations. Memory tip: “Replicas read, writer writes—offload the joins to avoid the spikes.”
DBS-C01 Workload-Specific Database Design Practice Question
This DBS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of workload-specific database design. 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 financial services company runs an Amazon Aurora MySQL database. The application performs complex joins and aggregations on large tables, causing high CPU utilization on the writer instance. The team wants to reduce load without changing the application code. Which solution would best address this issue?
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
✓
Create one or more Aurora Replicas and route read traffic to them.
Creating one or more Aurora Replicas and routing read traffic to them offloads the complex joins and aggregations from the writer instance, reducing CPU utilization without requiring application code changes. Aurora Replicas share the same underlying storage volume as the writer, so they serve read queries with minimal replication lag while the writer focuses on write operations.
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.
✓
Create one or more Aurora Replicas and route read traffic to them.
Why this is correct
Read replicas offload SELECT queries from the writer.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Switch to asynchronous replication to reduce load on the primary.
Why it's wrong here
Aurora replication is already asynchronous; this does not help.
✗
Enable Aurora Auto Scaling to increase storage capacity.
Why it's wrong here
Auto Scaling is for storage, not compute; does not reduce CPU.
✗
Migrate to Aurora Serverless v2 for automatic scaling.
Why it's wrong here
Serverless may not handle complex joins efficiently; scaling latency may be an issue.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may confuse scaling compute capacity (Aurora Serverless v2) with offloading read traffic, but only read replicas directly reduce CPU load on the writer by moving read-heavy operations to separate instances.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Aurora Replicas use the same cluster volume as the writer, so they do not require separate storage provisioning and can serve read traffic with sub-second replication lag. In practice, offloading heavy analytical queries to replicas can reduce writer CPU by 50% or more, and you can use a custom endpoint or reader endpoint to distribute read traffic without application changes. The underlying storage is SSD-based and automatically striped across multiple Availability Zones, ensuring high durability and low latency for read replicas.
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
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Workload-Specific Database Design — This question tests Workload-Specific Database Design — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create one or more Aurora Replicas and route read traffic to them. — Creating one or more Aurora Replicas and routing read traffic to them offloads the complex joins and aggregations from the writer instance, reducing CPU utilization without requiring application code changes. Aurora Replicas share the same underlying storage volume as the writer, so they serve read queries with minimal replication lag while the writer focuses on write operations.
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.
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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Question Discussion
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