- A
Use Amazon ElastiCache for Memcached as the primary database.
Why wrong: Memcached is a cache, not a relational database.
- B
Deploy Amazon RDS in a Multi-AZ configuration without read replicas.
Why wrong: Multi-AZ alone does not address read spikes.
- C
Deploy Amazon RDS in a single Availability Zone with a large instance size.
Why wrong: Single-AZ is not highly available.
- D
Deploy Amazon RDS in a Multi-AZ configuration and use read replicas to offload read traffic.
Multi-AZ provides failover, and read replicas improve read performance.
Question 729 of 1,746
SAP-C02 Design for New Solutions Practice Question
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of design for new solutions. 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 company is deploying a web application on AWS that requires a relational database. The application is read-heavy and expects sudden spikes in traffic. The database must be highly available and perform well under load. Which database configuration meets these requirements?
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
✓
Deploy Amazon RDS in a Multi-AZ configuration and use read replicas to offload read traffic.
Option D is correct because it combines Multi-AZ deployment for high availability with read replicas to offload read traffic, addressing both the read-heavy workload and sudden traffic spikes. Multi-AZ ensures automatic failover to a standby instance in a different Availability Zone if the primary fails, while read replicas distribute read queries across multiple copies, reducing load on the primary database and improving performance under spike conditions.
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.
- ✗
Use Amazon ElastiCache for Memcached as the primary database.
Why it's wrong here
Memcached is a cache, not a relational database.
- ✗
Deploy Amazon RDS in a Multi-AZ configuration without read replicas.
Why it's wrong here
Multi-AZ alone does not address read spikes.
- ✗
Deploy Amazon RDS in a single Availability Zone with a large instance size.
Why it's wrong here
Single-AZ is not highly available.
- ✓
Deploy Amazon RDS in a Multi-AZ configuration and use read replicas to offload read traffic.
Why this is correct
Multi-AZ provides failover, and read replicas improve read performance.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Multi-AZ with read replicas, assuming Multi-AZ alone provides read scaling, but Multi-AZ only provides failover redundancy—the standby instance cannot serve reads, so read replicas are required to offload read traffic.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Amazon RDS read replicas use asynchronous replication based on the MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, or Oracle engine's native replication mechanism (e.g., MySQL's binlog-based replication), which means replicas may lag slightly behind the primary but are sufficient for read-heavy workloads that tolerate eventual consistency. Multi-AZ uses synchronous replication to a standby instance in a different AZ, ensuring zero data loss during failover; however, the standby cannot serve read traffic unless promoted, so read replicas are essential for read scaling. In practice, combining Multi-AZ with read replicas allows the application to direct read queries to replica endpoints (e.g., via a custom connection pool or Route 53 weighted records) while writes go to the primary, maintaining both availability and performance under load spikes.
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
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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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: Deploy Amazon RDS in a Multi-AZ configuration and use read replicas to offload read traffic. — Option D is correct because it combines Multi-AZ deployment for high availability with read replicas to offload read traffic, addressing both the read-heavy workload and sudden traffic spikes. Multi-AZ ensures automatic failover to a standby instance in a different Availability Zone if the primary fails, while read replicas distribute read queries across multiple copies, reducing load on the primary database and improving performance under spike conditions.
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
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