Question 141 of 977
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CV0-004 Practice Question: A cloud architect is designing a multi-tier web…
A cloud architect is designing a multi-tier web application that must handle sudden traffic spikes. The application layer is stateless, and the database layer is read-heavy with occasional writes. Which design best meets the requirement for elasticity and cost efficiency?
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA often tests the misconception that auto-scaling applies equally to all tiers, but the trap here is that databases are stateful and require careful replication strategies (like read replicas) rather than simple instance scaling, and candidates may confuse load balancers with database replication mechanisms.
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 auto-scaling for the application tier and read replicas for the database
Auto-scaling the stateless application tier dynamically adds or removes instances based on CPU or request metrics, directly handling traffic spikes without over-provisioning. For the read-heavy database tier, read replicas offload SELECT queries from the primary database, improving read throughput and cost efficiency by scaling horizontally only when needed, while the primary handles occasional writes.
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 auto-scaling for the application tier and read replicas for the database
Why this is correct
Auto-scaling handles stateless compute elasticity, read replicas scale database reads cost-effectively.
- ✗
Implement auto-scaling for the database tier and use a larger application instance
Why it's wrong here
Auto-scaling databases is complex and not typically read-heavy optimized; vertical scaling is less elastic.
- ✗
Use a load balancer to distribute traffic to multiple database instances
Why it's wrong here
Load balancers are for application traffic, not for distributing database writes; databases need replication.
- ✗
Deploy large application and database instances to handle peak load
Why it's wrong here
Overprovisioning is not cost-efficient and does not scale down during low demand.
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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
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