DEA-C01 Data Operations and Support Practice Question
A company uses Amazon S3 to store raw data and AWS Lambda to process files as they arrive. The Lambda function sometimes times out when processing large files. The team wants to improve reliability and scalability. Which approach should the team take?
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 Amazon S3 event notifications to send events to an Amazon SQS queue, and then have Lambda poll the queue in batches.
Using S3 event notifications to send events to an SQS queue decouples the file upload from processing. Lambda can then poll the queue in batches, processing multiple events per invocation. This improves reliability by allowing retries and scalability by handling spikes in file arrivals without timing out. Option A is incorrect because AWS Batch is designed for long-running batch jobs, not event-driven processing triggered by S3 events. Option B is incorrect because SNS is push-based and can still overwhelm Lambda, leading to timeouts. Option C is incorrect because increasing Lambda timeout and memory only postpones the problem without addressing the root cause of scaling and reliability.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Replace Lambda with AWS Batch and use S3 event notifications to trigger the batch job.
Why it's wrong here
Batch is for jobs that run longer, but event-driven processing is better with Lambda + SQS.
- ✗
Use Amazon S3 event notifications to send events to an Amazon SNS topic, which triggers Lambda.
Why it's wrong here
SNS is push-based and does not solve timeouts.
- ✗
Increase the Lambda function timeout to 15 minutes and memory to 3 GB.
Why it's wrong here
This is a temporary fix, not scalable.
- ✓
Use Amazon S3 event notifications to send events to an Amazon SQS queue, and then have Lambda poll the queue in batches.
Why this is correct
Decoupling with SQS allows Lambda to process at its own pace.
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.