- A
Increase the Lambda function timeout and use a single database connection per function instance.
Why wrong: Lambda instances can scale to hundreds, each opening a connection, overwhelming the database.
- B
Use Amazon RDS Proxy to pool database connections, and configure the Lambda function to connect through the proxy.
RDS Proxy efficiently manages connection pooling and reduces load on the database.
- C
Use a singleton Lambda function with a reserved concurrency of 1 to ensure only one connection is used.
Why wrong: Reserved concurrency of 1 will cause processing delays and potential loss of events.
- D
Use a Lambda function that batches records from DynamoDB Streams and uses a single database connection per batch.
Why wrong: Each Lambda instance still opens a connection; with many instances, connections multiply.
Amazon RDS Proxy for Lambda Connection Pooling
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of design for new solutions. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 designing a serverless application that uses AWS Lambda to process events from Amazon DynamoDB Streams. The Lambda function updates an Amazon RDS for MySQL database. The company expects a high volume of updates and is concerned about the Lambda function causing too many connections to the database. How should the company design the solution to manage the database connection pool effectively?
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
Use Amazon RDS Proxy to pool database connections, and configure the Lambda function to connect through the proxy.
Amazon RDS Proxy sits between the Lambda function and the RDS database, maintaining a pool of established connections. When Lambda invocations scale up, they reuse connections from the pool instead of opening new ones, preventing the database from being overwhelmed. This is the recommended AWS pattern for serverless applications with high concurrency and relational databases.
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.
- ✗
Increase the Lambda function timeout and use a single database connection per function instance.
Why it's wrong here
Lambda instances can scale to hundreds, each opening a connection, overwhelming the database.
- ✓
Use Amazon RDS Proxy to pool database connections, and configure the Lambda function to connect through the proxy.
Why this is correct
RDS Proxy efficiently manages connection pooling and reduces load on the database.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Use a singleton Lambda function with a reserved concurrency of 1 to ensure only one connection is used.
Why it's wrong here
Reserved concurrency of 1 will cause processing delays and potential loss of events.
- ✗
Use a Lambda function that batches records from DynamoDB Streams and uses a single database connection per batch.
Why it's wrong here
Each Lambda instance still opens a connection; with many instances, connections multiply.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often think batching or reducing concurrency is the solution, but the real challenge is managing connection reuse under elastic scaling, which only a dedicated proxy like RDS Proxy can solve without sacrificing throughput.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
RDS Proxy uses a connection multiplexing technique where it maintains a warm pool of connections to the database and maps each Lambda invocation to an available connection from the pool. This reduces the overhead of TLS handshakes and authentication for each new connection, and it also handles IAM authentication seamlessly. Under the hood, RDS Proxy can buffer or throttle requests if the pool is exhausted, providing backpressure that prevents the database from exceeding its max_connections limit.
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 startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
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.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SAP-C02 question test?
Design for New Solutions — This question tests Design for New Solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use Amazon RDS Proxy to pool database connections, and configure the Lambda function to connect through the proxy. — Amazon RDS Proxy sits between the Lambda function and the RDS database, maintaining a pool of established connections. When Lambda invocations scale up, they reuse connections from the pool instead of opening new ones, preventing the database from being overwhelmed. This is the recommended AWS pattern for serverless applications with high concurrency and relational databases.
What should I do if I get this SAP-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.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
This SAP-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 SAP-C02 exam.
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