DEA-C01 Data Ingestion and Transformation Practice Question
A company uses AWS DMS to migrate a 2 TB PostgreSQL database to Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL. The migration is taking longer than expected due to the initial load. Which AWS service can be used to accelerate the initial load by transferring the database files directly?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates assume network-based acceleration services (like S3 Transfer Acceleration or Direct Connect) are sufficient for large migrations, overlooking the fact that physical data transport (Snowball) is the only option that completely avoids network transfer for the initial load.
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
✓
AWS Snowball
AWS Snowball is a petabyte-scale data transport solution that uses physical storage devices to transfer large amounts of data into and out of AWS. For a 2 TB PostgreSQL database, the initial load via DMS over the network can be slow due to bandwidth constraints, especially for large datasets. By using Snowball, you can export the database files (e.g., using pg_dump or physical file copy) to the device, ship it to AWS, and have the data loaded directly into Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL, bypassing the network bottleneck and significantly accelerating the initial load.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
AWS Snowball
Why this is correct
Snowball allows physical transfer of data, which can be faster than network transfer for very large datasets.
- ✗
Amazon S3 Transfer Acceleration
Why it's wrong here
S3 Transfer Acceleration speeds up S3 uploads over the internet, but does not bypass network bandwidth limits for large datasets.
- ✗
AWS Direct Connect
Why it's wrong here
Direct Connect provides a dedicated network connection, but the data still transfers over the network, which may still be slow for 2 TB.
- ✗
Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose
Why it's wrong here
Kinesis Data Firehose is for streaming data, not for bulk database migration.
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
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