Answer: Create a read replica of the database, enable the cloudsql.iam_authentication flag on the replica, and grant read access to required tables to the analytics team.

To provide the analytics team with access to the data without affecting the performance of the primary Cloud SQL for MySQL instance, the best approach is to create a read replica of the database. This allows the analytics team to run their queries on the replica, thus offloading the workload from the primary instance. Option A suggests creating a read replica and providing direct access credentials, which is a viable solution but lacks the security benefits of IAM authentication. Option B enhances security by enabling IAM authentication on the replica, which is more secure than sharing passwords. Option C is not ideal because enabling IAM authentication on the primary instance does not address the performance impact of analytics queries. Option D is the least favorable as it directly impacts the primary instance's performance and security by sharing its credentials. Therefore, the best options are A and B, with B being the more secure choice.

Author: LeetQuiz Editorial Team