DEA-C01 Data Operations and Support Practice Question
A company uses Amazon DynamoDB as the primary data store for a high-traffic application. Recently, read latency has increased significantly. The DynamoDB table has on-demand capacity mode. Which action is MOST effective to reduce read latency?
⚠ Common exam trap
DEA-C01 often tests the distinction between throughput scaling (RCUs, on-demand) and latency reduction (DAX, caching), so candidates who equate 'more capacity' with 'lower latency' pick the wrong option.
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
✓
Add a DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) cluster in front of the table
DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) is an in-memory cache purpose-built for DynamoDB that reduces read latency from single-digit milliseconds to microseconds for eventually consistent reads. For a high-traffic, read-heavy application on on-demand mode, adding a DAX cluster in front of the table is the most direct and effective way to cut read latency without changing capacity mode or table architecture.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Add a DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) cluster in front of the table
Why this is correct
DynamoDB Accelerator is an in-memory cache that serves eventually consistent reads in microseconds, absorbing the repeated read traffic that drives latency on the on-demand table. Placing DAX in front reduces read latency by orders of magnitude without changing the table's capacity mode.
- ✗
Switch the table to provisioned capacity mode with higher read capacity
Why it's wrong here
Provisioned mode with higher RCUs does not lower per-request latency; it only changes how capacity is billed and allocated. It would be the right choice when traffic is predictable and you want cost control, but on-demand mode already scales read throughput automatically.
- ✗
Increase the read capacity units in the table's auto scaling settings
Why it's wrong here
Auto scaling settings apply only to provisioned capacity mode; an on-demand table has no RCU auto scaling configuration to adjust. This option tempts engineers used to provisioned tables, where raising minimum RCUs genuinely increases available read throughput for sustained workloads.
- ✗
Enable DynamoDB Global Tables to distribute reads across regions
Why it's wrong here
Global Tables replicate data across regions for disaster recovery and low-latency local reads, but they add cross-region replication cost and do not reduce latency for reads served from the existing region. They suit multi-region active-active applications, not a single-region hot-table read bottleneck.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Amazon Web Services exam blueprint
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.