The answer is the IAM role used by the crawler does not have permission to list the S3 bucket. This is the most likely reason because a Glue crawler discovers new partitions by listing objects in the S3 bucket path; if the crawler’s IAM role lacks the s3:ListBucket permission, it cannot see the folder structure for year, month, and day, so new partitions remain invisible even though the crawler runs hourly. On the AWS Certified Data Engineer Associate DEA-C01 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how IAM permissions directly affect Glue crawler behavior—a common trap is assuming the issue is too many partitions or a slow schedule, but the crawler handles thousands of partitions efficiently and an hourly schedule is fine. Remember, the crawler’s eyes are its IAM role: no ListBucket permission means no partition discovery. Memory tip: “If the crawler can’t list, the partition doesn’t exist.”
DEA-C01 Data Operations and Support Practice Question
This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data operations and support. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 using AWS Glue to catalog data stored in Amazon S3. The data is partitioned by year, month, and day. A data analyst reports that new partitions are not automatically discovered by the Glue crawler. The crawler runs on a schedule every hour. What is the MOST likely reason for the missing partitions?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The IAM role used by the crawler does not have permission to list the S3 bucket.
Option C is correct because if the S3 bucket policy denies the crawler's IAM role, the crawler cannot list objects and discover partitions. Option A is incorrect because the crawler can handle many partitions. Option B is incorrect because the schedule is hourly, which should be sufficient. Option D is incorrect because the crawler can discover partitions in S3 without a Hive metastore connection.
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.
✓
The IAM role used by the crawler does not have permission to list the S3 bucket.
Why this is correct
Without s3:ListBucket permission, the crawler cannot see new partitions.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
The Glue Data Catalog is not configured to use a Hive metastore.
Why it's wrong here
Glue Data Catalog is a managed Hive metastore; no additional configuration needed.
✗
The number of partitions exceeds the Glue catalog limit of 100,000.
Why it's wrong here
The limit is higher, and the error would be different.
✗
The crawler schedule is set to run too frequently.
Why it's wrong here
More frequent runs would not prevent discovery; the issue is likely a permission problem.
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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
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 Operations and Support — This question tests Data Operations and Support — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The IAM role used by the crawler does not have permission to list the S3 bucket. — Option C is correct because if the S3 bucket policy denies the crawler's IAM role, the crawler cannot list objects and discover partitions. Option A is incorrect because the crawler can handle many partitions. Option B is incorrect because the schedule is hourly, which should be sufficient. Option D is incorrect because the crawler can discover partitions in S3 without a Hive metastore connection.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
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
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.