This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data store management. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 uses Amazon DynamoDB to store session data for a web application. The application experiences throttling during peak hours. The data engineer needs to reduce throttling. Which THREE actions should the engineer take?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) to cache read requests.
DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) is an in-memory cache that reduces read latency and offloads read requests from the DynamoDB table, directly decreasing the number of read capacity units consumed. By caching frequently accessed session data, DAX mitigates throttling during peak hours without requiring changes to the table's provisioned capacity.
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.
✓
Use DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) to cache read requests.
Why this is correct
Reduces read capacity consumption.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Increase the provisioned read capacity units.
Why it's wrong here
Does not address write throttling or hot partitions.
✓
Implement exponential backoff in the application.
Why this is correct
Reduces retry pressure during throttling.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Design the partition key to include a random suffix to distribute writes.
Why this is correct
Prevents hot partitions by distributing writes evenly.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Enable auto scaling on the table.
Why it's wrong here
Auto scaling helps but may not react quickly enough; does not fix partition key issues.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse reactive scaling (auto scaling) or capacity increases with proactive throttling reduction techniques, while the correct answers focus on caching, request distribution, and retry logic that directly reduce the load on the table.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
DAX acts as a write-through cache that maintains eventual consistency for reads, reducing the number of read requests hitting the DynamoDB table's underlying storage nodes. The random suffix on the partition key (Option D) distributes write traffic across partitions, preventing hot keys that cause throttling on individual partitions, which is a common pattern for session data with high write volume. Exponential backoff (Option C) is a retry strategy that reduces request rate during throttling, but it does not prevent throttling—it only handles it gracefully.
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.
TExam Day Tips
→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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Data Store Management — This question tests Data Store Management — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) to cache read requests. — DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) is an in-memory cache that reduces read latency and offloads read requests from the DynamoDB table, directly decreasing the number of read capacity units consumed. By caching frequently accessed session data, DAX mitigates throttling during peak hours without requiring changes to the table's provisioned capacity.
What should I do if I get this DEA-C01 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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