Question #1615
A social media application uses a MySQL database running on an Amazon EC2 instance. During a viral event, the database experiences connection issues due to increased traffic. The traffic is unpredictable for future events, affecting user engagement. The company needs a cost-effective solution to maintain performance during traffic spikes.
Which solution resolves this issue in the MOST cost-effective way?
Migrate the MySQL database to Amazon Aurora Serverless v2.
Enable auto scaling for the MySQL database on the EC2 instance to accommodate increased usage.
Migrate the MySQL database to Amazon RDS for MySQL with a larger instance type.
Migrate the MySQL database to Amazon Redshift to accommodate increased usage.
Explanation
The correct answer is A. Amazon Aurora Serverless v2 automatically scales database capacity up or down based on application demand, making it ideal for unpredictable traffic spikes. It eliminates the need to manually manage database instances or over-provision resources, ensuring cost-effectiveness by charging only for the capacity used.
Why other options are incorrect:
- B: Auto scaling EC2 instances for MySQL is impractical because scaling a single-instance database vertically (e.g., CPU/RAM) requires downtime, and horizontal scaling (read replicas) doesn’t resolve connection limits.
- C: Migrating to a larger RDS instance incurs fixed costs for peak capacity, which is wasteful during low-traffic periods.
- D: Amazon Redshift is a data warehouse for analytics, not transactional workloads like MySQL, and cannot replace a relational database.
Key Points:
1. Aurora Serverless v2 scales automatically and instantly during traffic spikes.
2. Pay-per-use pricing avoids over-provisioning costs.
3. EC2/RDS vertical scaling requires manual intervention and leads to higher fixed costs.
4. Redshift is unsuitable for OLTP workloads.
Answer
The correct answer is: A