AWS Solutions Architect Associate Practice Test

What is one of the best approaches to reduce read contention for a high-volume RDS MySQL instance?

1. Deploy ElasticCache in-memory cache running in each availability zone

2. Implement sharding to distribute load to multiple RDS MySQL instances

3. Add an RDS MySQL read replica in each availability zone

4. All of the above

The correct answer is: All of the above

Reducing read contention for a high-volume RDS MySQL instance can be effectively achieved through a combination of strategies, as highlighted in the choices provided. Deploying an in-memory caching solution like Amazon ElastiCache can significantly alleviate read pressure on the RDS instance. By caching frequently accessed data, applications can retrieve this information from the cache instead of querying the database directly. This leads to reduced load on the RDS MySQL instance, allowing it to perform better under high traffic conditions. Implementing sharding involves dividing the database into smaller, more manageable pieces, each hosted on its own RDS MySQL instance. This approach helps distribute the read and write load across multiple databases, which can minimize contention. By doing so, each instance deals with a subset of the total workload, thus improving overall read performance. Adding read replicas is another effective strategy. In RDS MySQL, read replicas allow for read operations to be offloaded from the primary instance. When read replicas are deployed across different availability zones, they can handle incoming read requests, mitigating contention on the master instance and enhancing the application's scalability and performance during peak load periods. Each of these options addresses read contention from different angles, and they can be used individually or combined for a more robust solution