Aurora Read Replicas for Reporting Performance

SAA-C03 By islever Editorial Last updated

Determine high-performing database solutions.

Short answer

C Create an Amazon Aurora MySQL Multi-AZ DB cluster with multiple read replicas and configure the application to use the reader endpoint for reports.

Question

A company is migrating a three-tier application to AWS. The application requires a MySQL database. In the past, the application users reported poor application performance when creating new entries. These performance issues were caused by users generating different real-time reports from the application during working hours. Which solution will improve the performance of the application when it is moved to AWS?
  1. Import the data into an Amazon DynamoDB table with provisioned capacity. Refactor the application to use DynamoDB for reports.
  2. Create the database on a compute optimized Amazon EC2 instance. Ensure compute resources exceed the on-premises database.
  3. Create an Amazon Aurora MySQL Multi-AZ DB cluster with multiple read replicas. Configure the application to use the reader endpoint for reports. Correct Answer
  4. Create an Amazon Aurora MySQL Multi-AZ DB cluster. Configure the application to use the backup instance of the cluster as an endpoint for the reports.

Key Takeaways

The question tests the ability to separate write and read operations in a relational database architecture. The common trap is confusing backup instances with read replicas or failing to use the specific reader endpoint.

This page explains how to offload reporting workloads from a primary database using Amazon Aurora MySQL read replicas. It establishes that utilizing the reader endpoint is the correct strategy to improve application performance during peak hours.

Common mistake: Option D is often considered because it mentions 'backup instance,' but backups are not accessible as endpoints for real-time querying, making this option technically invalid for active reporting.

Expert Analysis

Why the Answer Is Correct

Option C is the correct solution because Amazon Aurora MySQL supports up to 15 read replicas that can handle read-only traffic. By configuring the application to use the cluster's reader endpoint, all reporting queries are directed away from the primary writer node, preserving its resources for transactional updates. This directly addresses the reported performance issues caused by concurrent reporting during working hours.

Why the Other Options Are Wrong

Option A requires refactoring the application to NoSQL (DynamoDB), which is an unnecessary architectural change when the requirement is simply to support MySQL. Option B suggests running MySQL on EC2, which fails to leverage managed service benefits like automated patching and scaling inherent to RDS/Aurora. Option D is incorrect because Aurora does not expose 'backup instances' as queryable endpoints; backups are snapshots used for restoration, not for live read access.

Community Comment Notes

Community consensus strongly favors Option C. As user xBUGx noted, "real-time reports - > read replica," highlighting the direct link between the workload type and the solution. Another user, Scheldon, emphasized that "we will use multiple replicas which when used will signicially allow to increase performance," confirming that distributing read load is key.

Official Reference

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/AuroraUserGuide/AuroraMySQL.Replication.html

This link opens the official vendor documentation in a new tab.

Exam Strategy

Always look for keywords indicating heavy read traffic or reporting requirements. If the database engine is supported by read replicas (like Aurora, RDS PostgreSQL/MySQL), separating read/write workloads is usually the high-performance answer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why can't we use the backup instance for reports?

Backup instances in Aurora are snapshots used for disaster recovery and cannot be accessed via an endpoint for live querying.

Does Multi-AZ provide read scaling?

No, Multi-AZ provides high availability by synchronously replicating data to a standby. Read scaling requires explicit read replicas.

More SAA-C03 FAQ →

Community Votes

C
100%

100% of anonymous learners picked answer C. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.

Discussion 3 contributions

Compiled from public community threads and reader submissions, lightly edited for clarity. Handles and vote tallies are shown as recorded, and comments reflect the views of individual contributors.

From public community threads 3

  1. xBUGx 👍 6 Answered C
    real-time reports - > read replica
  2. Scheldon 👍 3 Answered C
    Answer C Any replica of Amazon Aurora Db will be read-only replica (even backup one). Option C is better then D because we will use multiple replicas which when used will signicially allow to increase performance for creating reports. In the same time no write operation should be affected. https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/AuroraUserGuide/AuroraMySQL.Replication.html
  3. KennethNg923 👍 1 Answered C
    caused by users generating different real-time reports -> read replica

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