AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate
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An online learning company is migrating to the AWS Cloud. The company maintains its student records in a PostgreSQL database. The company needs a solution in which its data is available and online across multiple AWS Regions at all times.
Which solution will meet these requirements with the LEAST amount of operational overhead?
Other
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UAnonymous
A
Migrate the PostgreSQL database to a PostgreSQL cluster on Amazon EC2 instances.
B
Migrate the PostgreSQL database to an Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL DB instance with the Multi-AZ feature turned on.
C
Migrate the PostgreSQL database to an Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL DB instance. Create a read replica in another Region.
D
Migrate the PostgreSQL database to an Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL DB instance. Set up DB snapshots to be copied to another Region.
Explanation:
Explanation
Correct Answer: C - Migrate the PostgreSQL database to an Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL DB instance. Create a read replica in another Region.
Why this is correct:
-
Multi-Region Availability: The requirement states that data must be "available and online across multiple AWS Regions at all times." Creating a read replica in another Region provides a live, read-only copy of the database in a different Region.
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Least Operational Overhead: Amazon RDS manages the replication process automatically. Once configured, RDS handles the ongoing replication, monitoring, and maintenance with minimal operational overhead.
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High Availability: While the read replica is read-only, it can be promoted to a standalone database if needed, providing disaster recovery capabilities.
Analysis of other options:
A. PostgreSQL cluster on Amazon EC2 instances:
- Requires significant operational overhead to set up and maintain cross-region replication manually
- You would need to configure and manage PostgreSQL replication, monitoring, backups, and failover procedures
- Not the solution with "LEAST amount of operational overhead"
B. RDS with Multi-AZ feature:
- Multi-AZ provides high availability within a single Region (across multiple Availability Zones)
- Does NOT provide availability across multiple Regions
- Only protects against AZ failures, not Region failures
D. RDS with DB snapshots copied to another Region:
- DB snapshots are backups, not live databases
- Data is not "available and online" in the other Region - it would require restoration time
- This is a disaster recovery solution, not continuous availability
Key AWS Concepts:
- Cross-Region Read Replicas: Provide asynchronous replication to another AWS Region
- Operational Overhead: Managed services like RDS reduce operational burden compared to self-managed solutions
- Multi-Region Architecture: For true multi-region availability, you need active or passive copies in different Regions
Best Practice: For multi-region availability with minimal operational overhead, Amazon RDS cross-region read replicas are the recommended approach for PostgreSQL databases on AWS.
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