The correct answer is AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) to Amazon S3, then COPY into Redshift. This combination works because AWS DMS supports ongoing replication using change data capture (CDC), which captures inserts, updates, and deletes from Oracle with low latency and minimal source impact, staging the data as files in S3. The COPY command then efficiently bulk-loads those files into Redshift, making it the ideal pipeline for near-real-time ingestion. On the AWS Certified Data Engineer Associate DEA-C01 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of DMS’s CDC capability versus batch-only tools like Glue or event-driven services like Lambda, which cannot continuously stream database changes. A common trap is choosing Kinesis Data Streams, but remember that DMS handles Oracle’s native CDC (LogMiner or XStream) without custom producers. Memory tip: “DMS to S3, then COPY” — think of DMS as the continuous pipe, S3 as the staging bucket, and COPY as the final loader.
DEA-C01 Data Ingestion and Transformation Practice Question
This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data ingestion and transformation. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A data engineer is designing a data ingestion pipeline to load data from an on-premises Oracle database into Amazon Redshift. The pipeline must capture changes (inserts, updates, deletes) with low latency and minimal impact on the source database. Which combination of AWS services should the engineer use?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) to Amazon S3, then COPY into Redshift
Option A is correct because AWS DMS with ongoing replication (change data capture) can capture changes from Oracle with minimal impact and replicate to S3, then COPY into Redshift. Option B is wrong because AWS Glue is batch-oriented and does not support real-time CDC natively. Option C is wrong because Lambda can process events but is not designed for continuous CDC from a database. Option D is wrong because Kinesis Data Streams requires custom producers and does not directly integrate with Oracle for CDC.
Key principle: NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
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 Database Migration Service (DMS) to Amazon S3, then COPY into Redshift
Why this is correct
DMS supports ongoing replication from Oracle to S3 with CDC, and Redshift can COPY from S3.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
✗
Amazon Kinesis Data Streams with a custom producer on Oracle
Why it's wrong here
This would require significant custom development and does not leverage managed CDC.
✗
AWS Glue with JDBC connection to Oracle, writing to Redshift
Why it's wrong here
Glue is batch-oriented and does not provide low-latency CDC.
✗
AWS Lambda reading from Oracle logs and writing to Redshift
Why it's wrong here
Lambda is not suitable for continuous log-based CDC.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
→Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
→Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
→Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
Key takeaway
NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related DEA-C01 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Data Ingestion and Transformation — This question tests Data Ingestion and Transformation — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) to Amazon S3, then COPY into Redshift — Option A is correct because AWS DMS with ongoing replication (change data capture) can capture changes from Oracle with minimal impact and replicate to S3, then COPY into Redshift. Option B is wrong because AWS Glue is batch-oriented and does not support real-time CDC natively. Option C is wrong because Lambda can process events but is not designed for continuous CDC from a database. Option D is wrong because Kinesis Data Streams requires custom producers and does not directly integrate with Oracle for CDC.
What should I do if I get this DEA-C01 question wrong?
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related DEA-C01 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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 data engineer needs to ingest data from a relational database (MySQL) into Amazon S3 for analytics. The database is 500 GB and the job must run daily with incremental updates. Which AWS service is BEST suited for this task?
easy
A.Amazon EMR with Apache Sqoop.
B.Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose with a database source.
✓ C.AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) with a replication task.
D.AWS Glue ETL job with a JDBC connection.
Why C: Option A is correct because AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) supports ongoing replication from MySQL to S3 with change data capture (CDC), enabling incremental updates. Option B is wrong because AWS Glue can do batch jobs but does not natively support CDC as seamlessly as DMS. Option C is wrong because Amazon Kinesis is for streaming data, not database snapshots. Option D is wrong because Amazon EMR is overkill for simple database ingestion.
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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.
Question Discussion
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