DEA-C01 Data Operations and Support Practice Question
A data engineer is designing a pipeline that ingests streaming data into Amazon S3 using Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose. The data must be delivered to S3 in Parquet format and partitioned by date. The engineer needs to configure the Firehose delivery stream. Which two actions are required to meet these requirements? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse supporting IAM or monitoring configurations with the specific features that enable Parquet conversion and dynamic partitioning.
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
✓
Enable record format conversion in the Firehose delivery stream and select Apache Parquet as the output format.
To deliver Parquet, Firehose must use record format conversion, which requires selecting Parquet and referencing a Glue Data Catalog table for the schema. To partition by date, Firehose must use dynamic partitioning with a JQ expression that extracts the date from each record and includes it in the S3 prefix. Together, these two configurations satisfy the format and partitioning requirements.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Enable Amazon CloudWatch Logs for the Firehose delivery stream.
Why it's wrong here
CloudWatch Logs provide monitoring and troubleshooting data for Firehose, but they do not influence data format or partitioning. Enabling logging is an operational best practice, not a requirement to deliver Parquet data partitioned by date. It does not contribute to meeting the stated requirements.
- ✗
Set the Firehose buffer size to 128 MB and buffer interval to 900 seconds.
Why it's wrong here
Buffer size and interval affect delivery frequency and object size, not the format or partitioning scheme. These settings are performance tuning parameters and do not enable Parquet conversion or dynamic partitioning. They are not required to meet the stated requirements.
- ✓
Enable record format conversion in the Firehose delivery stream and select Apache Parquet as the output format.
Why this is correct
Firehose supports record format conversion from JSON to Parquet using an AWS Glue Data Catalog table for the schema. Enabling this feature and selecting Parquet as the output format is necessary to deliver data in columnar format, which is the requirement. Without it, Firehose delivers raw JSON.
- ✓
Configure dynamic partitioning with a JQ expression that extracts the date from each record.
Why this is correct
Dynamic partitioning in Firehose allows delivery to S3 prefixes based on record content. Specifying a JQ expression such as .date to extract the date and using it in the S3 prefix key enables date-based partitioning. This is required to meet the partitioning requirement without custom processing.
- ✗
Attach an IAM role to Firehose that allows s3:PutObject and glue:GetTable.
Why it's wrong here
While the Firehose role needs S3 write permissions, and Glue permissions if using schema from the Data Catalog, this is a supporting configuration rather than a specific action to achieve Parquet and partitioning. The question asks for actions directly enabling format conversion and partitioning, not the general IAM setup, which is assumed.
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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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Amazon Web Services exam blueprint
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.