Answer: Configure provisioned concurrency for the Lambda function that handles the requests.

**Explanation:** **Why Option B is correct:** 1. **Cold start latency reduction:** The problem states that the Lambda function loads many libraries when it receives requests. This indicates significant cold start latency. Provisioned concurrency keeps a specified number of Lambda function instances initialized and ready to respond to requests immediately, eliminating cold start delays. 2. **Fewest changes to operations:** Configuring provisioned concurrency requires minimal operational changes compared to other options - it's a simple configuration change in Lambda settings. 3. **Addresses the root cause:** The main latency issue described is the time spent loading libraries (cold start), not database query performance or network latency. **Why other options are incorrect:** **Option A:** Establishing a direct connection between the frontend and database: - **Security risk:** Exposes the database directly to the internet/frontend, bypassing API Gateway's security features - **Architectural anti-pattern:** Violates the separation of concerns principle - **Doesn't address cold starts:** The main latency issue is Lambda cold starts, not API Gateway latency **Option C:** Caching results in Amazon S3: - **Inappropriate cache solution:** S3 is for object storage, not for low-latency query caching - **Better alternatives exist:** Amazon ElastiCache or DynamoDB would be more suitable for caching - **Doesn't address cold starts:** The latency issue is in Lambda initialization, not data retrieval **Option D:** Increasing database size: - **Costly and inefficient:** Scaling up the database is expensive and doesn't address the actual problem - **Wrong bottleneck:** The issue is Lambda cold starts, not database connection limits - **No impact on library loading:** Database size has no effect on Lambda function initialization time **Additional context:** - **Provisioned concurrency** keeps Lambda functions initialized, which is perfect for applications with infrequent traffic patterns or high initialization overhead - **Alternative considerations:** If the data processing is complex, consider using Lambda layers for shared libraries or optimizing the function initialization code - **Monitoring:** Use AWS X-Ray to identify specific latency bottlenecks in the Lambda execution

Author: LeetQuiz Editorial Team