DEA-C01 Data Ingestion and Transformation Practice Question
This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data ingestion and transformation. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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.
A company is migrating its on-premises data warehouse to Amazon Redshift. The daily batch load from the source database takes 6 hours using a single-node Redshift cluster. The engineer needs to reduce load time to under 2 hours without increasing cost significantly. Which strategy should the engineer adopt?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Increase the number of nodes in the Redshift cluster and use parallel COPY from multiple files.
Option A is correct because increasing the node count provides more parallelism for the COPY command, reducing load time. Option B is wrong because compression reduces storage, not load time. Option C is wrong because distributing data across nodes helps queries, not loads. Option D is wrong because VPC routing changes do not affect performance.
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.
✗
Use COPY with compression (gzip) to reduce data volume.
Why it's wrong here
Compression helps storage but not load time significantly.
✗
Use a VPC endpoint to improve network throughput to S3.
Why it's wrong here
Network improvements are marginal; parallelism is key.
✗
Change the table distribution style to EVEN to distribute data evenly.
Why it's wrong here
Distribution style affects query performance, not load speed.
✓
Increase the number of nodes in the Redshift cluster and use parallel COPY from multiple files.
Why this is correct
More nodes enable parallel data loading.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→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
A startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which DEA-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Data Ingestion and Transformation — This question tests Data Ingestion and Transformation — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Increase the number of nodes in the Redshift cluster and use parallel COPY from multiple files. — Option A is correct because increasing the node count provides more parallelism for the COPY command, reducing load time. Option B is wrong because compression reduces storage, not load time. Option C is wrong because distributing data across nodes helps queries, not loads. Option D is wrong because VPC routing changes do not affect performance.
What should I do if I get this DEA-C01 question wrong?
Identify which DEA-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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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.
Question Discussion
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