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SAA-C03 Practice Question 29: Aurora Serverless Auto Pause

AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) · Test 3 · question 9 of 10

Database Cost Optimizationmedium

A QA team uses an Aurora MySQL cluster with one provisioned db.r6g.large instance as a test database. It runs around the clock, but testers use it irregularly: a few hours on some days, and not at all in some weeks. Nobody can predict in advance when it will be needed.

The testers accept a delay of up to about 15 seconds on the first connection after the database has been idle. The team wants the lowest compute cost with no manual start or stop steps. What should the architect do?

Select one answer
Show answer and explanation

Answer:

  • B. Switch the cluster to an Aurora Serverless v2 instance with a minimum capacity of 0 ACUs so it auto-pauses when idle

When you set an Aurora Serverless v2 cluster's minimum capacity to 0 ACUs, its instances pause automatically after a period with no user connections. You set that period, from five minutes up to one day. You aren't charged for instance capacity while an instance is paused, and only storage and other cluster-level items are still billed. The first connection resumes the instance automatically, typically in about 15 seconds, which is within the testers' tolerance. AWS names development and test clusters as a fit for this feature. Paying nothing for compute during unpredictable idle stretches, without anyone lifting a finger, is exactly what the stem asks for.

Option A saves money only when the schedule happens to match the usage, and here usage is unpredictable. The schedule would stop the database while someone is testing, or leave it running through idle weeks. The only way around that is starting it by hand, which is ruled out.

Option C lowers the hourly rate but still pays for all 24 hours of every day. For a database that is idle most of the time, a commitment locks in paying for capacity nobody uses.

Option D makes the always-on bill smaller but never zero. The instance is still billed every hour of the idle weeks, and a smaller class may also slow the testers' workloads when they do run.

Reference: Scaling to zero ACUs with automatic pause and resume for Aurora Serverless v2

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