The most effective solution is Deploy a read replica of the current RDS instance and redirect research team queries to the replica. Amazon RDS read replicas are specifically designed to handle read-heavy workloads by offloading read traffic from the primary database. Since they are built from the same underlying RDS instance, no significant application changes are needed, and analysts can query the replica without affecting production performance. This maintains high availability and minimizes operational complexity.

The option Offload the data into an Amazon Redshift cluster and use it for running all analytical workloads is technically feasible but introduces unnecessary complexity and infrastructure for what is essentially standard SQL querying. Redshift is better suited for complex, large-scale analytics and data warehousingnot minimal-impact solutions for read query load relief.

The choice Replicate the RDS data into Amazon DynamoDB and have analysts access it using query APIs is unsuitable because DynamoDB is a NoSQL database. The analysts workload involves SQL queries, which are not natively supported in DynamoDB. Migrating relational data to a NoSQL store also requires a redesign of the data model, violating the requirement for minimal changes.

The option Store a copy of frequently accessed data in Amazon ElastiCache for analysts to query directly is also inappropriate. While ElastiCache can speed up repeated queries, its not designed to handle full SQL queries or support ad hoc analytical requests from business analysts. Implementing this would require significant development effort and query logic refactoring.

This question highlights the importance of scaling read performance in a relational database system and is a typical real-world scenario in AWS. A key tip for answering similar questions is to focus on the phrasingterms like "read-only queries," "minimal changes," and "performance degradation" usually point toward adding replicas, especially when RDS is involved.

The challenge here lies in distinguishing between similar-sounding services (like Redshift and ElastiCache) and understanding when they are appropriate. Choosing a solution that directly relieves pressure from the primary DB with the least impact should guide your decision-making.

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