- A
Use Amazon RDS with Multi-AZ and read replicas, or Amazon Aurora Serverless
Multi-AZ provides high availability, read replicas handle read spikes, and Aurora Serverless automatically scales compute.
- B
Use Amazon RDS with a Single-AZ instance and automatic scaling
Why wrong: Single-AZ is not highly available, and RDS does not have automatic scaling for compute.
- C
Use Amazon DynamoDB with on-demand capacity
Why wrong: DynamoDB is a NoSQL database, not relational.
- D
Use Amazon RDS with a Single-AZ instance and a large instance size
Why wrong: Single-AZ is not highly available, and a large instance may be over-provisioned during low traffic.
Question 172 of 1,746
Variable Traffic Database: Cost-Effective with Aurora Serverless
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of design for new solutions. 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 company is designing a new application that requires a relational database. The application has variable traffic, with high spikes during business hours and low traffic at night. The company wants to minimize costs while ensuring the database can handle the spikes. Which solution should the architect recommend?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"minimum / minimize"Why it matters: Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
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 with Multi-AZ and read replicas, or Amazon Aurora Serverless
Amazon Aurora Serverless automatically scales compute capacity based on application demand, making it ideal for variable traffic with high spikes during business hours and low traffic at night, while minimizing costs by only paying for consumed resources. Multi-AZ RDS with read replicas provides high availability and read scaling but does not automatically scale compute for write spikes, so Aurora Serverless is the more cost-effective and fully managed solution for this use case.
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 RDS with Multi-AZ and read replicas, or Amazon Aurora Serverless
Why this is correct
Multi-AZ provides high availability, read replicas handle read spikes, and Aurora Serverless automatically scales compute.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Use Amazon RDS with a Single-AZ instance and automatic scaling
Why it's wrong here
Single-AZ is not highly available, and RDS does not have automatic scaling for compute.
- ✗
Use Amazon DynamoDB with on-demand capacity
Why it's wrong here
DynamoDB is a NoSQL database, not relational.
- ✗
Use Amazon RDS with a Single-AZ instance and a large instance size
Why it's wrong here
Single-AZ is not highly available, and a large instance may be over-provisioned during low traffic.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may choose Multi-AZ RDS with read replicas (option A) thinking it handles spikes via read scaling, but they overlook that write spikes still require manual compute scaling, whereas Aurora Serverless is the only option that automatically scales both compute and cost for variable traffic.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Aurora Serverless uses a fleet of warm instances and a shared storage volume, allowing it to scale from 0 to 256 ACUs (Aurora Capacity Units) in seconds based on connection load and CPU utilization, with no need for read replicas. Under the hood, it pauses the database after a configurable inactivity period (default 5 minutes) to reduce costs, and automatically resumes when traffic returns, which is ideal for predictable spikes. In contrast, RDS Multi-AZ provides synchronous standby replication for failover but does not auto-scale compute, requiring manual instance resizing or Aurora Auto Scaling policies 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 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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Design for New Solutions — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
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Targeted practice on this topic area only
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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 with Multi-AZ and read replicas, or Amazon Aurora Serverless — Amazon Aurora Serverless automatically scales compute capacity based on application demand, making it ideal for variable traffic with high spikes during business hours and low traffic at night, while minimizing costs by only paying for consumed resources. Multi-AZ RDS with read replicas provides high availability and read scaling but does not automatically scale compute for write spikes, so Aurora Serverless is the more cost-effective and fully managed solution for this use case.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "minimum / minimize". Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
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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