DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
A company uses Amazon Redshift for analytics. The data engineer notices that queries are slow and the system is experiencing high disk usage. The engineer suspects that the distribution style is suboptimal. Which action should the engineer take to improve query performance?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse distribution style with sort key or node scaling, leading them to choose options that address symptoms (e.g., disk usage via node count) rather than the root cause of suboptimal data distribution.
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
✓
Use the DISTSTYLE AUTO setting and analyze query patterns to let Redshift choose.
DISTSTYLE AUTO allows Amazon Redshift to automatically assign distribution styles (KEY, EVEN, or ALL) based on query patterns and table size, optimizing data distribution for improved query performance. This is particularly effective when the engineer suspects suboptimal distribution but lacks detailed knowledge of the ideal key, as Redshift analyzes workload patterns to reduce data movement and disk usage.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Convert all tables to use SORTKEY on the most frequently filtered column.
Why it's wrong here
Sort keys optimize range-restricted scans, not distribution.
- ✗
Increase the number of nodes in the cluster to distribute data across more slices.
Why it's wrong here
Adding nodes helps but may not fix distribution issues.
- ✓
Use the DISTSTYLE AUTO setting and analyze query patterns to let Redshift choose.
Why this is correct
AUTO adapts distribution based on workload.
- ✗
Set all tables to DISTSTYLE EVEN to distribute data evenly.
Why it's wrong here
EVEN reduces data skew but may increase network traffic for joins.
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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.