DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
A company uses Amazon Redshift for data warehousing. The data engineer notices that query performance has degraded over time. The tables are frequently updated with new data, and the data engineer suspects that the distribution style is causing data skew. Which distribution style should the data engineer use to minimize data skew?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often choose KEY distribution on a high-cardinality column (A) assuming it will balance data, but they overlook that high cardinality does not guarantee uniform distribution—skew can still occur if the column's values are not evenly distributed, which is a common misconception tested in the DEA-C01 exam.
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
✓
EVEN distribution
EVEN distribution (D) distributes rows across all slices in a round-robin fashion, ensuring each slice holds approximately the same number of rows. This eliminates data skew caused by uneven distribution keys, which is the suspected issue when query performance degrades over time with frequent updates. By avoiding any dependency on column values, EVEN distribution guarantees balanced data distribution regardless of data characteristics.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
KEY distribution on a column with high cardinality
Why it's wrong here
Can still cause skew if distribution key is not well-distributed.
- ✗
AUTO distribution
Why it's wrong here
Redshift decides, but may not always minimize skew.
- ✗
ALL distribution
Why it's wrong here
Replicates table to all nodes, not suitable for large tables.
- ✓
EVEN distribution
Why this is correct
Distributes rows evenly, ideal for preventing skew.
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JA
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.