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Question 394

A company is running a multi-tier ecommerce web application in the AWS Cloud. The application runs on Amazon EC2 instances with an Amazon RDS for MySQL Multi-AZ DB instance. Amazon RDS is configured with the latest generation DB instance with 2,000 GB of storage in a General Purpose SSD (gp3) Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS) volume. The database performance affects the application during periods of high demand.

A database administrator analyzes the logs in Amazon CloudWatch Logs and discovers that the application performance always degrades when the number of read and write IOPS is higher than 20,000.

What should a solutions architect do to improve the application performance?

    Correct Answer: B

    To improve the application performance in the given scenario, increasing the number of IOPS on the gp3 volume is the appropriate solution. Amazon RDS with gp3 volumes allows you to provision the necessary IOPS up to 64,000, which can address the performance degradation issue observed when the number of read and write IOPS exceeds 20,000. This approach directly targets the performance bottleneck without the need to replace the volume with a different type or configure additional volumes.

Discussion
BezhaOption: D

A - Magnetic Max IOPS 200 - Wrong B - gp3 Max IOPS 16000 per volume - Wrong C - RDS not supported io2 - Wrong D - Correct; 2 gp3 volume with 16 000 each 2*16000 = 32 000 IOPS

joechen2023

https://repost.aws/knowledge-center/ebs-volume-type-differences RDS does support io2

wRhlH

that Link is to EBS instead of RDS

baba365

‘the application performance always degrades when the number of read and write IOPS is higher than 20,000’ … question didn’t say read and write IOPs can’t be higher than 32,000. Answer: C if it’s based on performance and not cost related. ‘Amazon RDS provides three storage types: General Purpose SSD (also known as gp2 and gp3), Provisioned IOPS SSD (also known as io1), and magnetic (also known as standard). They differ in performance characteristics and price, which means that you can tailor your storage performance and cost to the needs of your database workload.’ https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/CHAP_Storage.html

dkw2342

I really wonder how this answer can be the top answer. How would it even be possible to provision multiple gp3 volumes for RDS? RDS manages the storage, we have no influence on the number of volumes. *Striping* is something that RDS does automatically depending on storage class and volume size: "When you select General Purpose SSD or Provisioned IOPS SSD, depending on the engine selected and the amount of storage requested, Amazon RDS automatically stripes across multiple volumes to enhance performance (...)" For MariaDB with 400 to 64,000 GiB of gp3 storage, RDS automatically provisions 4 volumes. This gives us 12,000 IOPS *baseline* and can be increased up to 64,000 *provisioned* IOPS. RDS does not support io2. Therefore: Option B

dkw2342

PS: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/CHAP_Storage.html

zits88

It must be that io2 was originally not supported by RDS, because I see this untruth reposted everywhere. It totally is.

Michal_L_95Option: B

It can not be option C as RDS does not support io2 storage type (only io1). Here is a link to the RDS storage documentation: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/CHAP_Storage.html Also it is not the best option to take Magnetic storage as it supports max 1000 IOPS. I vote for option B as gp3 storage type supports up to 64 000 IOPS where question mentioned with problem at level of 20 000.

GalileoEC2

is this true? Amazon RDS (Relational Database Service) supports the Provisioned IOPS SSD (io2) storage type for its database instances. The io2 storage type is designed to deliver predictable performance for critical and highly demanding database workloads. It provides higher durability, higher IOPS, and lower latency compared to other Amazon EBS (Elastic Block Store) storage types. RDS offers the option to choose between the General Purpose SSD (gp3) and Provisioned IOPS SSD (io2) storage types for database instances.

1rob

Please add a reference where it states that io2 is supported by RDS.

zits88

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/CHAP_Storage.html - Right there in the first paragraph: "Amazon RDS provides three storage types: General Purpose SSD (also known as gp2 and gp3), Provisioned IOPS SSD (also known as io1 and io2 Block Express), and magnetic (also known as standard). They differ in performance characteristics and price, which means that you can tailor your storage performance and cost to the needs of your database workload. You can create Db2, MySQL, MariaDB, Oracle, and PostgreSQL RDS DB instances with up to 64 tebibytes (TiB) of storage. "

joechen2023

check the link below https://repost.aws/knowledge-center/ebs-volume-type-differences it states: General Purpose SSD volumes are good for a wide variety of transactional workloads that require less than the following: 16,000 IOPS 1,000 MiB/s of throughput 160-TiB volume size

zits88Option: C

io2 is now supported by RDS as of 2024. It wasn't at one point, but people need to check the docs when they start saying it's not supported. Just because it was once true does not mean that it still is.

Skip

Hey I don't think the io2 restiction exist anymore, as from March 2024. See below.... https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/amazon-rds-now-supports-io2-block-express-volumes-for-mission-critical-database-workloads/#:~:text=1%20io2%20Block%20Express%20volumes%20are%20available%20on,of%20IOPS%20to%20allocated%20storage%20is%20500%3A1.%20

zits88

Thank you, I see people saying that it is not supported everywhere. Now, a whole 'nother thing is whether AWS has updated SAA to reflect these changes. Given how terribly a lot of the REAL EXAM QUESTIONS are written, I wouldn't be surprised if they have NOT updated the exam at all

theamachineOption: C

Provisioned IOPS SSDs (io2) are specifically designed to deliver sustained high performance and low latency (RDS is supported in IO2). They can handle more than 20,000 IOPS.

lprina

If you reached this discussion after March 5th, RDS supports io2 now:https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/amazon-rds-now-supports-io2-block-express-volumes-for-mission-critical-database-workloads/

paexamtopicsOption: D

this case is 2000GB storage size, no other option support more iops. so it is D.

Lin878Option: C

It should be "C" right, now. https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/amazon-rds-now-supports-io2-block-express-volumes-for-mission-critical-database-workloads/

MikeJANGOption: C

GPT4 Option B is incorrect because it does not address the app's need for more than 20000 iops, which is the maximum capa of gp3 volmes. Option D might appear to be more economical, it does not address the core isuue of needing more than 20000 iops. Provisioned IOPS SSD(io2) volume resolves the perfomance issues without requiring additional management overhead or future scaling concerns, it may be the more cost-effective solution in th long run.

FrozenCarrotOption: C

Now EBS support io2.

learndigitalcloud

C is the correct one EBS Volume Types Use cases Provisioned IOPS (PIOPS) SSD • Critical business applications with sustained IOPS performance • Or applications that need more than 16,000 IOPS • Great for databases workloads (sensitive to storage perf and consistency) • io1/io2 (4 GiB - 16 TiB): • Max PIOPS: 64,000 for Nitro EC2 instances & 32,000 for other • Can increase PIOPS independently from storage size • io2 have more durability and more IOPS per GiB (at the same price as io1) • io2 Block Express (4 GiB – 64 TiB): • Sub-millisecond latency • Max PIOPS: 256,000 with an IOPS:GiB ratio of 1,000:1

ScheldonOption: C

Per the newest info it should be C right now https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/CHAP_Storage.html

stalk98

ChatGpt says B

pichipatiOption: D

Answer D

UzbekistanOption: C

Option C. Replace the volume with a Provisioned IOPS SSD (io2) volume. Provisioned IOPS SSD (io2) volumes allow you to specify a consistent level of IOPS to meet performance requirements. By provisioning the necessary IOPS, you can ensure that the database performance remains stable even during periods of high demand. This solution addresses the issue of performance degradation when the number of read and write IOPS exceeds 20,000.

sidharthwader

RDS does not support io2 volume

zits88

No longer true as of 2024. It is supported now. Says right here in the first paragraphs: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/CHAP_Storage.html

frmrkcOption: B

https://aws.amazon.com/ebs/general-purpose/ 'For use cases where your application needs more performance than the baseline, you simply provision the IOPS or throughput you need, without having to add more capacity.'

anikolovOption: B

Looks that gp3 IOPS can be extend to provisioned 64k IOPS, based on RDS gp3 info on the below link: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/CHAP_Storage.html#Concepts.Storage.GeneralSSD

paexamtopics

however the IOPS is depends the DB storage size, it is 2000GB in this case, so it can be extended. Between 1,336 and 3,999 GiB 4008-11,997 IOPS

anikolov

You are right, but it is for gp2. For gp3 we have the followings (from above link second table) DB engine: MariaDB, MySQL, and PostgreSQL Storage size: 400 GiB and higher Baseline storage performance: 12,000 IOPS/500 MiB/s Range of Provisioned IOPS: 12,000–64,000 IOPS