DEA-C01 Data Operations and Support Practice Question
A company runs a data processing pipeline using Amazon EMR with Spark. The pipeline reads from S3, processes data, and writes to S3. Recently, the job started failing with 'S3AccessDeniedException' even though the EMR role has appropriate S3 permissions. Which TWO actions should the data engineer take to resolve this issue? (Choose TWO.)
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
✓
Verify that the EMR service role has the necessary S3 permissions in IAM.
Options B and D are correct. B: The EMR service role (and instance profile) must have an IAM policy granting S3 permissions; verifying these ensures the role has the necessary access. D: S3 bucket policies can include explicit deny statements that override IAM permissions, even if the IAM role allows access; checking the bucket policy can reveal such denies. Option A is wrong because S3 versioning does not affect access permissions. Option C is wrong because disabling S3 Block Public Access is unrelated to IAM-based access from EMR. Option E is wrong because an S3 VPC endpoint is not required if the cluster can access S3 via the internet or a NAT gateway.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Enable S3 versioning on the bucket to allow multiple access methods.
Why it's wrong here
Versioning does not affect access permissions.
- ✓
Verify that the EMR service role has the necessary S3 permissions in IAM.
Why this is correct
The EMR service role (EMR_EC2_DefaultRole) must have permissions.
- ✗
Disable S3 Block Public Access settings on the bucket.
Why it's wrong here
Block Public Access affects public access, not IAM role access.
- ✓
Check the S3 bucket policy for explicit deny statements that may override the IAM role.
Why this is correct
Bucket policies can deny access even if IAM allows it.
- ✗
Ensure the EMR cluster is launched in a VPC with an S3 VPC endpoint.
Why it's wrong here
VPC endpoint is not required; EMR can access S3 via internet.
Visual reference
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.