AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) — Question 831

A large company wants to provide its globally located developers separate, limited size, managed PostgreSQL databases for development purposes. The databases will be low volume. The developers need the databases only when they are actively working.

Which solution will meet these requirements MOST cost-effectively?

Answer options

• A. Give the developers the ability to launch separate Amazon Aurora instances. Set up a process to shut down Aurora instances at the end of the workday and to start Aurora instances at the beginning of the next workday.
• B. Develop an AWS Service Catalog product that enforces size restrictions for launching Amazon Aurora instances. Give the developers access to launch the product when they need a development database.
• C. Create an Amazon Aurora Serverless cluster. Develop an AWS Service Catalog product to launch databases in the cluster with the default capacity settings. Grant the developers access to the product.
• D. Monitor AWS Trusted Advisor checks for idle Amazon RDS databases. Create a process to terminate identified idle RDS databases.

Correct answer: C

Explanation

Amazon Aurora Serverless is ideal for intermittent, low-volume development workloads because it automatically scales down to zero capacity when inactive, minimizing costs. Using AWS Service Catalog allows developers to self-service these databases on-demand while maintaining administrative control. Other options involving provisioned Aurora instances or reactive cleanup of RDS do not scale down to zero automatically and would incur higher baseline costs.