DEA-C01 Data Operations and Support Practice Question
A data engineer is managing an Amazon Redshift cluster that experiences performance degradation during peak query hours. The engineer needs to identify and resolve issues related to workload management (WLM). Which TWO actions should the engineer take to improve query performance? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse general scaling actions with WLM-specific tuning, such as adding nodes or maximizing concurrency, which can be counterproductive.
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 short query acceleration (SQA) to prioritize short-running queries.
To improve query performance in Amazon Redshift during peak hours from a workload management perspective, the engineer should configure manual WLM queues with appropriate memory allocation and enable short query acceleration. Manual WLM allows fine-grained control over memory and concurrency, ensuring complex queries get necessary resources. SQA prioritizes short queries, reducing wait times. These actions directly address WLM-related bottlenecks.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Increase the number of nodes in the cluster to add more compute resources.
Why it's wrong here
While adding nodes can improve performance, it is not a WLM-specific action and may not address workload management issues such as queue contention or memory allocation. The question asks for actions to improve query performance related to WLM, so scaling the cluster is a broader solution that may not directly resolve WLM misconfigurations.
- ✗
Set the WLM query slots to the maximum value for all queues to increase concurrency.
Why it's wrong here
Setting query slots to the maximum for all queues can lead to oversubscription of memory and cause queries to wait or spill to disk, degrading performance. WLM query slots should be configured based on workload characteristics and memory requirements, not simply maximized. This action could worsen performance during peak hours.
- ✓
Enable short query acceleration (SQA) to prioritize short-running queries.
Why this is correct
Short query acceleration (SQA) uses machine learning to predict query execution time and runs short queries in a dedicated space, preventing them from waiting behind long-running queries. Enabling SQA can improve overall throughput and reduce latency for short queries during peak periods, making it an effective action to resolve WLM-related performance issues.
- ✗
Disable concurrency scaling to prevent additional clusters from being added.
Why it's wrong here
Concurrency scaling adds additional cluster capacity to handle bursts of queries, improving performance during peak times. Disabling it would remove this elasticity and likely degrade performance. Therefore, this is not a recommended action to improve query performance; it would have the opposite effect.
- ✓
Configure a manual WLM queue with a higher memory allocation for the queue handling complex queries.
Why this is correct
Manual WLM allows you to define queues with specific memory percentages and concurrency levels. Allocating more memory to queues that run complex queries can improve performance by reducing disk spills and allowing more memory-intensive operations. This is a valid action to address performance degradation during peak hours by prioritizing resources for critical workloads.
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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.