DEA-C01 Data Ingestion and Transformation Practice Question
A data engineer is designing a data ingestion pipeline for clickstream data. The data arrives in batches of 10-50 MB every 5 seconds. The engineer needs to buffer the data, perform simple transformations (e.g., add timestamp, remove PII), and land it in S3 within 10 minutes. Which TWO services should be combined? (Choose TWO.)
⚠ Common exam trap
The DEA-C01 exam often tests the distinction between Kinesis Data Streams (raw streaming, custom consumers) and Kinesis Data Firehose (managed ingestion with built-in transformation and delivery), leading candidates to mistakenly choose Data Streams when Firehose is the simpler, correct choice for this pipeline.
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
✓
Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose
Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose is the correct choice because it is a fully managed service designed to ingest streaming data, buffer it, perform simple transformations (such as adding timestamps or removing PII) via built-in Lambda functions, and automatically deliver the data to S3. It can handle the 10-50 MB batches every 5 seconds and meet the 10-minute delivery window without requiring custom code for buffering or delivery.
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 Simple Queue Service (SQS)
Why it's wrong here
SQS is not designed for streaming to S3; requires a consumer to poll and write.
- ✓
Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose
Why this is correct
Firehose can buffer and invoke Lambda for transformation, then deliver to S3.
- ✓
AWS Lambda
Why this is correct
Lambda can be used to transform data in Firehose or as a consumer.
- ✗
AWS Glue ETL
Why it's wrong here
Glue is batch-oriented and not ideal for near-real-time buffering.
- ✗
Amazon Kinesis Data Streams
Why it's wrong here
Data Streams requires a consumer application, adding complexity.
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
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 1,711 original DEA-C01 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.