The answer is to use Glue job bookmarks to track and process only new and updated records. This approach is correct because Glue job bookmarks automatically persist state information about previously processed data, enabling incremental ETL processing without reprocessing entire tables. When a Glue job runs with bookmarks enabled, it reads only the data that has changed since the last run, making it both cost-effective and reliable for hourly pipelines from RDS MySQL. On the AWS Certified Data Engineer Associate DEA-C01 exam, this question tests your understanding of how to balance cost and complexity—common traps include over-engineering with DMS for CDC or relying on timestamp-based queries that miss unindexed or non-updated timestamp fields. Remember the key trade-off: Glue bookmarks handle state for you, while full scans waste compute and money. Memory tip: think “bookmark = bookmark your place in the data,” so you never re-read the whole chapter.
DEA-C01 Data Operations and Support Practice Question
This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data operations and support. 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 pipeline that uses AWS Glue to process data from an RDS MySQL database. The pipeline must capture only incremental changes (inserts and updates) and run every hour. Which approach is most cost-effective and reliable?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use Glue job bookmarks to track and process only new and updated records
Option B is correct because Glue job bookmarks track processed data and enable incremental processing without reprocessing full tables. Option A is wrong because CDC from DMS adds complexity and cost. Option C is wrong because full scans are inefficient and costly. Option D is wrong because querying by timestamp may miss updates if timestamps are not indexed or updated.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
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 Glue job bookmarks to track and process only new and updated records
Why this is correct
Bookmarks efficiently handle incremental loads.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use AWS DMS with change data capture (CDC) to replicate changes to S3
Why it's wrong here
DMS adds cost and overhead for hourly CDC.
✗
Add a timestamp column and query rows where timestamp > last run
Why it's wrong here
May miss updates if timestamp not updated on change.
✗
Perform a full table scan each hour and compare with previous snapshot
Why it's wrong here
Full scans are resource-intensive and slow.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which DEA-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Data Operations and Support — This question tests Data Operations and Support — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use Glue job bookmarks to track and process only new and updated records — Option B is correct because Glue job bookmarks track processed data and enable incremental processing without reprocessing full tables. Option A is wrong because CDC from DMS adds complexity and cost. Option C is wrong because full scans are inefficient and costly. Option D is wrong because querying by timestamp may miss updates if timestamps are not indexed or updated.
What should I do if I get this DEA-C01 question wrong?
Identify which DEA-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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 is designing a data pipeline that ingests JSON files from an S3 bucket, transforms them using AWS Glue, and loads into Amazon Redshift. The data is updated daily, and the pipeline must handle late-arriving data from the previous day. Which approach minimizes reprocessing?
hard
✓ A.Use AWS Glue job bookmarks to process only new files based on S3 event notifications.
B.Stream data using Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose to Redshift.
C.Enable S3 versioning and process only the latest version of each object.
D.Schedule a full reload of all data from S3 to Redshift each day.
Why A: Option A is correct because incrementally processing only new files avoids reprocessing. Option B (full reload) is inefficient. Option C (versioning) handles overwrites but not late-arriving data. Option D (Kinesis) is for streaming, not batch with late data.
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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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