This SAA-C03 practice question tests your understanding of design high-performing architectures. 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 analytics dashboard uses RDS MySQL and receives many read-only reporting queries that slow down the primary database. What should the architect add?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "primary"
Why it matters: Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
S3 lifecycle policy
Why wrong: Lifecycle policies manage object storage cost, not RDS read load.
RDS read replica and route reporting queries to it
Read replicas offload read traffic from the primary instance.
Multi-AZ standby and route reads to the standby
Why wrong: The Multi-AZ standby is not used for normal read scaling.
A larger NAT gateway
Why wrong: NAT throughput does not solve database read contention.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
RDS read replica and route reporting queries to it
Adding an RDS read replica offloads read-heavy reporting queries from the primary MySQL instance, preserving write performance. The read replica asynchronously replicates data using MySQL's native binlog replication, and routing reporting queries to its endpoint reduces contention on the primary.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
S3 lifecycle policy
Why it's wrong here
Lifecycle policies manage object storage cost, not RDS read load.
RDS read replica and route reporting queries to it
Why this is correct
Read replicas offload read traffic from the primary instance.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "primary" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Multi-AZ standby and route reads to the standby
Why it's wrong here
The Multi-AZ standby is not used for normal read scaling.
A larger NAT gateway
Why it's wrong here
NAT throughput does not solve database read contention.
Common exam traps
The trap here is confusing a Multi-AZ standby (which is for high availability only and cannot serve reads) with a read replica (which is explicitly designed to offload read traffic).
Detailed technical explanation
RDS read replicas use asynchronous replication based on the MySQL binlog position or GTID, meaning the replica can lag behind the primary by seconds under heavy write load. In a real-world scenario, if reporting queries require near-real-time data, you must monitor replica lag (e.g., using SHOW REPLICA STATUS) and potentially use a caching layer like ElastiCache to absorb stale-read tolerance. Read replicas can also be promoted to standalone instances for disaster recovery.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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
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FAQ
Design High-Performing Architectures — This question tests Design High-Performing Architectures — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: RDS read replica and route reporting queries to it — Adding an RDS read replica offloads read-heavy reporting queries from the primary MySQL instance, preserving write performance. The read replica asynchronously replicates data using MySQL's native binlog replication, and routing reporting queries to its endpoint reduces contention on the primary.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Yes — watch for: "primary". Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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