The answer is to increase the DB instance class to a larger size and increase the allocated storage size for the Amazon RDS for MySQL instance. A larger instance class provides more CPU and memory, which directly reduces write latency by allowing more write operations to be processed in parallel and cached in memory. Increasing storage size, particularly on General Purpose SSD (gp2/gp3) volumes, raises the baseline IOPS and throughput limits, preventing I/O bottlenecks that cause write throttling under heavy load. On the AWS Certified Developer Associate DVA-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding that RDS write performance is often constrained by both compute capacity and storage I/O limits, not just one factor. A common trap is to only scale the instance class while ignoring storage IOPS, or to assume that enabling Multi-AZ alone improves write performance—it does not, as synchronous replication adds latency. Remember the mnemonic “Bigger Box, Bigger Drive” to recall that both instance size and storage allocation must be scaled to optimize write throughput.
DVA-C02 Troubleshooting and Optimization Practice Question
This DVA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of troubleshooting and optimization. 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 developer is troubleshooting a slow Amazon RDS for MySQL database. The application experiences high latency on write operations. Which TWO actions can improve write performance?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Increase the allocated storage size to get better I/O performance.
Option B is correct because increasing the allocated storage size for an Amazon RDS for MySQL instance can improve I/O performance by providing a higher baseline IOPS rate. Larger volumes in RDS, especially those using General Purpose SSD (gp2/gp3), have higher throughput and IOPS limits, which directly reduces write latency under heavy load.
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.
✗
Add a read replica to offload read traffic.
Why it's wrong here
Read replicas help with reads, not writes.
✓
Increase the allocated storage size to get better I/O performance.
Why this is correct
More storage can provide better I/O throughput due to burst credits.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Enable deletion protection.
Why it's wrong here
Deletion protection prevents accidental deletion, not performance.
✓
Increase the DB instance class to a larger size.
Why this is correct
Larger instances provide more CPU and memory for write operations.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Enable Multi-AZ deployment for high availability.
Why it's wrong here
Multi-AZ does not improve write performance; it provides failover.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse high availability (Multi-AZ) or read scaling (read replicas) with performance improvements for write operations, but neither addresses the underlying I/O or compute bottleneck causing write latency.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, RDS for MySQL write performance is often bottlenecked by the storage subsystem's IOPS and throughput limits. For gp2 volumes, IOPS scale with storage size at a ratio of 3 IOPS per GB, so increasing storage from, say, 100 GB to 200 GB raises baseline IOPS from 300 to 600. For gp3, you can provision IOPS independently, but larger volumes still offer higher throughput. Additionally, increasing the DB instance class (Option D) provides more CPU and memory, which can reduce contention and improve write performance by allowing more efficient handling of write-ahead logs and buffer cache operations.
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.
Troubleshooting and Optimization — This question tests Troubleshooting and Optimization — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Increase the allocated storage size to get better I/O performance. — Option B is correct because increasing the allocated storage size for an Amazon RDS for MySQL instance can improve I/O performance by providing a higher baseline IOPS rate. Larger volumes in RDS, especially those using General Purpose SSD (gp2/gp3), have higher throughput and IOPS limits, which directly reduces write latency under heavy load.
What should I do if I get this DVA-C02 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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
This DVA-C02 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 DVA-C02 exam.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.