Q69 — AWS SAA-C03 Ch.16

Question 69 of 100 | ← Chapter 16

Q1269. A company is developing software that uses a PostgreSQL database schema. The company needs to configure development environments and test environments for its developers.Each developer at the company uses their own development environment, which includes a PostgreSQL database. On average, each development environment is used for an 8-hour workday. The test environments will be used for load testing that can take up to 2 hours each day.Which solution will meet these requirements MOST cost-effectively?

Correct Answer: A. Configure development environments and test environments with their own Amazon Aurora Serverless v2 PostgreSQL database.

Explanation

The most cost-effective solution for configuring development and test environments with PostgreSQL databases, considering sporadic usage patterns (8-hour dev workdays, 2-hour load tests), is:Correct Answer: A. Configure development environments and test environments with their own Amazon Aurora Serverless v2 PostgreSQL database.Why Option A is Best:Cost-Effective for Sporadic Usage:Aurora Serverless v2 automatically scales compute capacity based on workload and pauses when idle (after 5 minutes of inactivity by default), reducing costs for environments used only 8 hours/day (dev) or 2 hours/day (test).Pay-per-second pricing ensures you only pay for active usage, unlike provisioned RDS instances that incur costs 24/7.Scalability & Performance:Aurora Serverless v2 handles variable workloads efficiently (e.g., developers compiling code or running tests).No need to over-provision capacity for peak loads (unlike Single-AZ RDS).Simplified Management:No need to manage instance sizing or scaling policies--Aurora Serverless handles it automatically. Built-in high availability (multi-AZ) without extra cost (unlike RDS Multi-AZ, which doubles costs).Isolation & Security:Each environment (dev/test) gets its own dedicated database, preventing conflicts. Supports PostgreSQL compatibility, matching the company's schema requirements.Why Other Options Are Less Cost-Effective:B. For each development environment, configure an Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL Single-AZ DB instance. For the test environment, configure a single Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL Multi-AZ DB instance. High costs for idle time: RDS instances run 24/7, even if used only 8 hours/day (dev) or 2 hours/day (test). Multi-AZ test instance is wasteful: Load testing doesn't require multi-AZ redundancy (tests can retry on failure).Operational overhead: Manual scaling required if workloads grow. C. Configure development environments and test environments with their own Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL DB cluster.Overkill for sporadic use: Aurora clusters (with writer + reader nodes) are expensive when idle (unlike Serverless v2, which scales to zero).Higher minimum costs: Even small Aurora clusters cost more than Serverless v2 for low-usage scenarios. D. Configure an Amazon Aurora global database. Allow developers to connect to the database with their own credentials.Unnecessary complexity: Global databases are for multi-region disaster recovery, not isolated dev/test environments.No cost savings: Still requires provisioned capacity (likely overkill for 8-hour/day dev use). Security risks: Sharing a global database across devs/tests increases conflict and access management challenges.Cost Comparison (Estimated for 1 Dev + 1 Test Environment/Month) OptionMonthly Cost (Approx.)Key Trade-offsA. Aurora Serverless v230?50 (dev + test)Pay-per-use, auto-scalingB. RDS Single-AZ + Multi-AZ200?300 (dev + test) 24/7 costs, over-provisionedC. Aurora Cluster150?250 (dev + test) Idle capacity costsD.