- A
Amazon EMR on EC2
Why wrong: EMR on EC2 requires provisioning and managing EC2 cluster nodes — it's not serverless.
- B
Amazon Redshift
Why wrong: Redshift is a managed data warehouse using columnar SQL — it doesn't run Apache Spark workloads.
- C
AWS Glue (serverless Apache Spark ETL)
AWS Glue provides a serverless Apache Spark environment for ETL processing — no cluster provisioning or management, automatic scaling, and pay-per-DPU-second pricing.
- D
Amazon Kinesis Data Analytics
Why wrong: Kinesis Data Analytics processes streaming data using SQL or Apache Flink — not batch-oriented Apache Spark ETL.
Question 306 of 1,024
AWS Glue: Serverless Spark for Big Data Analytics
This CLF-C02 practice question tests your understanding of cloud technology and services. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Which AWS service provides a serverless, fully managed Apache Spark processing engine for big data analytics without managing clusters?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
AWS Glue (serverless Apache Spark ETL)
AWS Glue provides a fully managed, serverless Apache Spark environment for ETL (extract, transform, load) workloads. It automatically provisions, configures, and scales the Spark cluster behind the scenes, so you don't need to manage any infrastructure. This makes it the correct choice for a serverless Apache Spark processing engine for big data analytics.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Amazon EMR on EC2
Why it's wrong here
EMR on EC2 requires provisioning and managing EC2 cluster nodes — it's not serverless.
- ✗
Amazon Redshift
Why it's wrong here
Redshift is a managed data warehouse using columnar SQL — it doesn't run Apache Spark workloads.
- ✓
AWS Glue (serverless Apache Spark ETL)
Why this is correct
AWS Glue provides a serverless Apache Spark environment for ETL processing — no cluster provisioning or management, automatic scaling, and pay-per-DPU-second pricing.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Amazon Kinesis Data Analytics
Why it's wrong here
Kinesis Data Analytics processes streaming data using SQL or Apache Flink — not batch-oriented Apache Spark ETL.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Amazon EMR (which can run Spark but requires cluster management) with a fully serverless Spark offering, or they mistakenly think Amazon Kinesis Data Analytics supports Apache Spark when it actually supports Apache Flink and SQL for stream processing.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, AWS Glue uses a dynamic scaling model where the Spark cluster is provisioned on-demand based on the workload's data partitioning and transformation complexity. It integrates with the AWS Glue Data Catalog as a central metadata repository, enabling schema discovery and versioning. In a real-world scenario, a data engineer can run a complex multi-table join and aggregation job on terabytes of data without ever configuring a single EC2 instance or cluster parameter.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
What to study next
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this CLF-C02 question test?
Cloud Technology and Services — This question tests Cloud Technology and Services — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: AWS Glue (serverless Apache Spark ETL) — AWS Glue provides a fully managed, serverless Apache Spark environment for ETL (extract, transform, load) workloads. It automatically provisions, configures, and scales the Spark cluster behind the scenes, so you don't need to manage any infrastructure. This makes it the correct choice for a serverless Apache Spark processing engine for big data analytics.
What should I do if I get this CLF-C02 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
This CLF-C02 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CLF-C02 exam.
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