DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
A company is using Amazon S3 for data lake storage. They need to query the data directly using SQL without loading it into a database. Which AWS service should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse AWS Glue's data cataloging and ETL capabilities with direct SQL querying, or they assume Redshift Spectrum is a standalone service rather than a feature requiring an existing Redshift cluster, leading them to pick a wrong answer that requires additional infrastructure or is not a query engine.
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
✓
Amazon Athena
Amazon Athena is the correct choice because it is a serverless, interactive query service that allows you to analyze data directly in Amazon S3 using standard SQL, without needing to load or transform the data into a database. Athena uses Presto under the hood and supports querying structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data formats (e.g., CSV, JSON, Parquet, ORC) stored in S3, making it ideal for ad-hoc SQL queries on a data lake.
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 Redshift Spectrum
Why it's wrong here
Amazon Redshift Spectrum queries S3 only through a Redshift cluster, so data must be loaded into or accessed via that provisioned warehouse. Spectrum suits extending an existing Redshift deployment, whereas Athena queries S3 directly with no cluster.
- ✓
Amazon Athena
Why this is correct
Athena queries data in place in Amazon S3 using standard SQL, requiring no loading into a database. This directly satisfies the requirement to query S3 data lake content with SQL while avoiding ETL or database provisioning.
- ✗
Amazon EMR
Why it's wrong here
Amazon EMR provisions clusters running Spark or Hive, requiring infrastructure management and processing jobs rather than ad hoc SQL against S3. It is tempting for large-scale transformation, and would be correct for heavy ETL workloads, but Athena queries S3 directly with serverless SQL.
- ✗
AWS Glue
Why it's wrong here
AWS Glue is a serverless ETL service that catalogues and transforms data; its SQL capability runs through jobs or crawlers rather than interactive querying. Glue would be correct for building and scheduling transformation pipelines, but Athena provides direct SQL querying over S3.
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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JA
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.