AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate
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A company is using a SQL database to store movie data that is publicly accessible. The database runs on an Amazon RDS Single-AZ DB instance. A script runs queries at random intervals each day to record the number of new movies that have been added to the database. The script must report a final total during business hours.
The company's development team notices that the database performance is inadequate for development tasks when the script is running. A solutions architect must recommend a solution to resolve this issue.
Which solution will meet this requirement with the LEAST operational overhead?
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UAnonymous
A
Modify the DB instance to be a Multi-AZ deployment.
B
Create a read replica of the database. Configure the script to query only the read replica.
C
Instruct the development team to manually export the entries in the database at the end of each day.
D
Use Amazon ElastiCache to cache the common queries that the script runs against the database.
Explanation:
Explanation
Correct Answer: B
Why Option B is correct:
- Read replicas are specifically designed to offload read traffic from the primary database instance.
- By creating a read replica and configuring the script to query only the replica, the reporting workload is completely separated from the development workload on the primary instance.
- This solution has the least operational overhead because:
- AWS manages the replication automatically
- No application changes are needed beyond redirecting the script's connection
- No manual intervention required
- Read replicas are easy to create and manage in RDS
- The script can run at random intervals without affecting development tasks since it's querying a separate instance.
Why other options are incorrect:
Option A (Multi-AZ deployment):
- Multi-AZ provides high availability and failover capability, but does not improve performance for read-heavy workloads.
- It creates a standby replica in another AZ, but this replica is not accessible for read operations (only for failover).
- This would not solve the performance issue when the script is running.
Option C (Manual export):
- This would require daily manual intervention, increasing operational overhead.
- Not automated, prone to human error.
- Does not provide real-time or near-real-time data for the script.
- Goes against AWS best practices for automation.
Option D (Amazon ElastiCache):
- While caching can improve performance, it adds complexity:
- Need to implement cache invalidation logic
- Additional service to manage and monitor
- The script needs to check cache first, then database if cache miss
- Cache may not be suitable for counting new movies if data changes frequently
- Higher operational overhead compared to a simple read replica.
Key AWS Concepts:
- Amazon RDS Read Replicas: Provide read scalability by allowing you to create read-only copies of your database instance.
- Read/Write Separation: Best practice to separate reporting/analytical workloads from transactional workloads.
- Operational Overhead: Consider management, monitoring, and maintenance requirements when evaluating solutions.
This solution effectively addresses the performance issue while maintaining minimal operational complexity.
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