The correct answer is to enable Provisioned IOPS and create a read replica. Provisioned IOPS delivers consistent, predictable I/O performance by guaranteeing a specific number of input/output operations per second, which directly addresses high read latency by eliminating I/O contention during read-intensive workloads. Creating a read replica offloads read traffic from the primary database instance to a separate replica, reducing contention on the primary and improving overall read response times. On the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate SOA-C02 exam, this question tests your understanding of scaling reads versus writes; a common trap is choosing Multi-AZ, which improves availability and failover but does not reduce read latency for the primary instance. Remember the memory tip: “IOPS for speed, replicas for reads” — Provisioned IOPS boosts performance on the primary, while read replicas distribute the load.
SOA-C02 Cost and Performance Optimization Practice Question
This SOA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of cost and performance optimization. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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.
Which TWO configurations can improve the performance of an Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL database that is experiencing high read latency? (Choose TWO.)
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Enable provisioned IOPS on the DB instance.
Option B is correct because enabling Provisioned IOPS on an Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL database provides consistent and predictable I/O performance, which directly reduces read latency by ensuring sufficient IOPS for read-intensive workloads. Option C is correct because creating a read replica offloads read traffic from the primary DB instance to the replica, reducing contention and improving read latency for the primary instance.
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.
✗
Upgrade to a larger instance size.
Why it's wrong here
Not a configuration change; requires downtime and may not be the first step.
✓
Enable provisioned IOPS on the DB instance.
Why this is correct
Provisioned IOPS provides consistent and low-latency I/O.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Create a read replica in the same AWS Region.
Why this is correct
Offloads read queries from the primary instance.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Enable Multi-AZ deployment.
Why it's wrong here
Multi-AZ provides high availability, not read performance improvement.
✗
Enable storage auto-scaling.
Why it's wrong here
Auto-scaling increases storage capacity, not performance.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Multi-AZ deployment with read replicas, mistakenly thinking Multi-AZ improves read performance, when in fact the standby in Multi-AZ is not accessible for reads and only provides failover redundancy.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Provisioned IOPS in Amazon RDS uses a dedicated EBS volume type (io1 or io2) that delivers a consistent IOPS rate, crucial for PostgreSQL workloads with high read throughput or latency-sensitive queries. Read replicas in the same Region use asynchronous replication (PostgreSQL streaming replication) to maintain a near-real-time copy, allowing SELECT queries to be directed to the replica while the primary handles writes, effectively distributing the read load. Under the hood, PostgreSQL's shared buffer pool and checkpoint behavior can also benefit from reduced I/O contention when read traffic is offloaded.
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.
Cost and Performance Optimization — This question tests Cost and Performance Optimization — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Enable provisioned IOPS on the DB instance. — Option B is correct because enabling Provisioned IOPS on an Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL database provides consistent and predictable I/O performance, which directly reduces read latency by ensuring sufficient IOPS for read-intensive workloads. Option C is correct because creating a read replica offloads read traffic from the primary DB instance to the replica, reducing contention and improving read latency for the primary instance.
What should I do if I get this SOA-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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This SOA-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 SOA-C02 exam.
Question Discussion
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