DEA-C01 Data Ingestion and Transformation Practice Question
A data engineer is designing a data ingestion pipeline to load millions of small JSON files from an on-premises FTP server into Amazon S3. The pipeline should minimize cost and operational overhead. Which approach is most suitable?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers assume S3 Transfer Acceleration is a general-purpose acceleration tool for any source, but it only accelerates the upload leg from the client to AWS and does not address the FTP-to-S3 protocol conversion or the orchestration of millions of small files.
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
✓
Deploy AWS DataSync to transfer files from the FTP server to S3
AWS DataSync is the most suitable option because it is designed to efficiently transfer large volumes of data from on-premises storage (including FTP servers) to AWS, handling millions of small files with minimal operational overhead. It automates data transfer, retries, and validation, and it is cost-effective as you pay only for the data transferred, with no need for additional infrastructure or complex scripting.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Use S3 Transfer Acceleration to upload files directly from the FTP server
Why it's wrong here
The FTP server does not have S3 API access.
- ✓
Deploy AWS DataSync to transfer files from the FTP server to S3
Why this is correct
AWS DataSync is designed for efficient data transfer from on-premises to AWS, handling small files well with minimal operational overhead.
- ✗
Use AWS Snowball Edge to ship the data to AWS
Why it's wrong here
Snowball is for large data volumes and has shipping delays; not suitable for ongoing ingestion.
- ✗
Set up an AWS Direct Connect connection and use AWS CLI to copy files
Why it's wrong here
Direct Connect requires network setup and CLI scripting; not the most cost-effective for small files.
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
This DEA-C01 question is part of Courseiva's 1,711-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. 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.