DEA-C01 Data Operations and Support Practice Question
A company is migrating its on-premises data warehouse to Amazon Redshift. The data includes tables with up to 100 columns and 500 million rows. The migration involves a full load followed by incremental updates. The company needs to minimize downtime during the final cutover. Which THREE strategies should the data engineer use to facilitate the migration? (Choose THREE.)
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
✓
Use the COPY command to load data from Amazon S3.
The COPY command is the most efficient way to load data from Amazon S3 into Redshift, enabling high-speed parallel ingestion. Option C is correct because using columnar formats like Parquet minimizes data scanned and reduces storage costs, speeding up data transfer. Option D is correct because running VACUUM and ANALYZE after loading reorganizes data and updates statistics, optimizing query performance. Option A is incorrect because increasing WLM queues does not improve COPY performance; COPY operations bypass WLM. Option E is incorrect because disabling distribution keys can cause data skew and degraded performance; proper distribution keys are essential for efficient cluster operation.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Increase the number of WLM queues to allow more concurrent loads.
Why it's wrong here
WLM queues affect query concurrency, not data loading performance.
- ✓
Use the COPY command to load data from Amazon S3.
Why this is correct
COPY is optimized for bulk data loading into Redshift.
- ✓
Use columnar format (e.g., Parquet) for the data files in S3.
Why this is correct
Columnar formats reduce I/O and improve load performance.
- ✓
Run VACUUM and ANALYZE commands after loading the data.
Why this is correct
These commands reorganize data and update statistics for optimal performance.
- ✗
Disable distribution keys on the target tables to simplify loading.
Why it's wrong here
Distribution keys are crucial for query performance; disabling them can cause data skew.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
Go deeper
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This DEA-C01 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 DEA-C01 exam.