DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
A company is using Amazon Redshift for data warehousing. The data engineer notices that the STL_ALERT_EVENT_LOG table shows many 'missing statistics' alerts. What is the best course of action to address this issue?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse VACUUM (which reorganizes data) with ANALYZE (which updates statistics), assuming both are needed for query performance, but only ANALYZE directly resolves 'missing statistics' alerts.
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
✓
Run ANALYZE on the tables.
The STL_ALERT_EVENT_LOG table records alerts about query performance issues, including 'missing statistics' alerts. This indicates that the query optimizer lacks up-to-date table statistics, leading to suboptimal query plans. Running the ANALYZE command updates table statistics, enabling the optimizer to generate efficient execution plans. Therefore, option D is the correct course of action.
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 WLM concurrency slots.
Why it's wrong here
WLM concurrency slots govern how many queries run simultaneously; they do not create or refresh table statistics, so the alerts persist. Increasing slots is tempting when queries queue slowly, but the correct action is running ANALYZE to collect the missing statistics that the alerts actually flag.
- ✗
Run VACUUM on the tables.
Why it's wrong here
VACUUM reclaims space from deleted rows and re-sorts data; it does not generate the column statistics that STL_ALERT_EVENT_LOG reports as missing. It is tempting because both are routine Redshift maintenance commands, but ANALYZE is the operation that populates statistics for the query planner.
- ✗
Enable compression on the tables.
Why it's wrong here
Compression reduces storage footprint and I/O for scanned columns; it has no bearing on whether the query planner has statistics. It is tempting because compression is a standard Redshift table-design task, but the alerts specifically require ANALYZE to gather the missing column statistics.
- ✓
Run ANALYZE on the tables.
Why this is correct
ANALYZE refreshes table statistics that the query planner uses to build optimal execution plans. Missing statistics force suboptimal plans, degrading performance and generating STL_ALERT_EVENT_LOG entries. Running ANALYZE directly resolves the alerts by restoring accurate cardinality estimates.
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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.