This CCSP practice question tests your understanding of cloud application security. 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 cloud application experiences intermittent failures during peak load. Logs show database connection timeouts. Which architecture change would best address this issue?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Implement connection pooling
Connection pooling reuses a set of established database connections, avoiding the overhead of repeatedly opening and closing connections during high concurrency. This directly resolves intermittent timeouts caused by connection exhaustion or slow connection establishment under peak load, without requiring additional infrastructure.
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.
✓
Implement connection pooling
Why this is correct
Connection pooling reuses connections, reducing overhead and preventing timeouts under load.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Enable auto-scaling on the application tier
Why it's wrong here
Auto-scaling adds more application instances but does not manage database connections.
✗
Use read replicas
Why it's wrong here
Read replicas distribute read queries but do not address connection management.
✗
Increase database instance size
Why it's wrong here
Larger instance provides more resources but does not optimize connection reuse.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
ISC2 often tests the misconception that scaling the application tier or database size alone solves connection management issues, when the real bottleneck is connection establishment overhead and pool limits.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Connection pooling works by maintaining a pool of persistent TCP connections (typically using protocols like PostgreSQL's libpq or MySQL's Connector/J) that are borrowed and returned by application threads. Key parameters include pool size, idle timeout, and connection lifetime; misconfiguration (e.g., pool size too large) can itself cause database overload. In real-world scenarios, intermittent timeouts often stem from the 'thundering herd' problem where many new connections are created simultaneously, overwhelming the database's listener backlog.
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 security analyst at a medium-sized enterprise encounters this scenario during an investigation or architecture review. The correct answer reflects best practice for the specific threat or control described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Security exam questions test whether you can match controls to threats in context — not just recall definitions.
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.
Cloud Application Security — This question tests Cloud Application Security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Implement connection pooling — Connection pooling reuses a set of established database connections, avoiding the overhead of repeatedly opening and closing connections during high concurrency. This directly resolves intermittent timeouts caused by connection exhaustion or slow connection establishment under peak load, without requiring additional infrastructure.
What should I do if I get this CCSP 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: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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This CCSP practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISC2 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 CCSP exam.
Question Discussion
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