DEA-C01 Data Ingestion and Transformation Practice Question
A company wants to import data from an external FTP server into Amazon S3 on a daily basis. The data volumes are moderate. Which AWS service is MOST suitable for this task?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse AWS DataSync with a general-purpose file transfer tool, but DataSync requires an agent on the source and does not natively support FTP protocols, whereas AWS Transfer Family is purpose-built for FTP-based transfers to S3.
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 Transfer Family
AWS Transfer Family is the most suitable service because it provides fully managed support for SFTP, FTPS, and FTP protocols, enabling direct, secure file transfers from an external FTP server to Amazon S3 without needing to manage any infrastructure. It integrates natively with S3, so files are automatically stored in the specified bucket upon transfer completion, making it ideal for daily imports of moderate data volumes.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Amazon S3 Transfer Acceleration
Why it's wrong here
Transfer Acceleration speeds up uploads to S3, but does not fetch from FTP.
- ✓
AWS Transfer Family
Why this is correct
Transfer Family supports FTP/SFTP/FTPS and directly writes to S3.
- ✗
AWS DataSync
Why it's wrong here
DataSync does not support FTP as a source.
- ✗
AWS Glue with a JDBC connection
Why it's wrong here
JDBC is for databases, not FTP servers.
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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Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on DEA-C01
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company needs to ingest data from an external FTP server into AWS S3. The FTP server is not accessible from the internet. Which AWS service should be used to securely transfer the data?
easy- A.Kinesis Data Firehose
- ✓ B.AWS Transfer Family with SFTP endpoint in a VPC
- C.AWS DataSync
- D.AWS Snowball Edge
Why B: AWS Transfer Family supports SFTP and can be configured with a VPC endpoint to securely transfer data from an FTP server in a private network to S3. Option A is wrong because Kinesis Data Firehose is designed for streaming data ingestion, not for FTP transfers. Option C is wrong because AWS DataSync requires network connectivity to the source, and the FTP server is not internet-accessible. Option D is wrong because AWS Snowball Edge is intended for large-scale offline data transfers, not regular FTP-based transfers.
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.