DEA-C01 Data Operations and Support Practice Question
A data engineer is monitoring an Amazon Kinesis Data Stream used to ingest clickstream data. The engineer notices that the stream's 'WriteProvisionedThroughputExceeded' metric is frequently above zero. Which TWO actions could help mitigate this issue? (Choose TWO.)
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
✓
Increase the number of shards in the stream.
Options A and D are correct. Increasing the number of shards in the stream increases the write capacity, reducing the 'WriteProvisionedThroughputExceeded' metric. Implementing a random prefix for the partition key helps distribute data writes evenly across all shards, preventing hot shards. Option B is incorrect because reducing the data retention period does not affect write throughput; it only changes how long data is stored. Option C is incorrect because decreasing the number of shards would reduce write capacity, potentially worsening the issue. Option E is incorrect because enabling enhanced fan-out increases read capacity, not write capacity.
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 shards in the stream.
Why this is correct
More shards increase total write capacity.
- ✗
Reduce the data retention period to free up capacity.
Why it's wrong here
Retention period does not affect write throughput limits.
- ✗
Decrease the number of shards to reduce overhead.
Why it's wrong here
Fewer shards reduce write capacity, worsening throttling.
- ✓
Implement a random prefix for the partition key to distribute data evenly.
Why this is correct
Random prefixes help avoid hot shards, reducing per-shard throttling.
- ✗
Enable enhanced fan-out on the stream.
Why it's wrong here
Enhanced fan-out improves read throughput, not write.
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Same concept, more angles
2 more ways this is tested on DEA-C01
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 monitoring an Amazon Kinesis Data Stream and notices that the 'WriteProvisionedThroughputExceeded' metric is frequently elevated. The stream has 5 shards and is used by multiple producers. What is the BEST action to resolve this issue?
medium- A.Increase the consumer's processing speed to reduce lag.
- ✓ B.Increase the number of shards in the Kinesis data stream.
- C.Reduce the data retention period of the stream.
- D.Implement exponential backoff and retries in the producer applications.
Why B: WriteProvisionedThroughputExceeded indicates that the write rate exceeds the shards' capacity. Increasing the number of shards increases the total write capacity. Option A is incorrect because increasing the consumer's processing speed does not affect write throttling; it addresses read-side lag. Option C is incorrect because reducing the retention period does not affect write throughput. Option D is incorrect because implementing exponential backoff and retries in the producer applications helps with transient failures but does not resolve the root cause of insufficient capacity.
Variation 2. A data engineer is monitoring an Amazon Kinesis Data Stream with a shard count of 10. The stream receives 5 MB/s of write traffic and 10 MB/s of read traffic. The engineer notices that writes are throttled with ProvisionedThroughputExceededException errors. Which action should the engineer take to resolve the throttling?
easy- A.Increase the shard count to 20.
- B.Decrease the shard count to 5.
- C.Enable enhanced fan-out on the stream.
- ✓ D.Configure auto-scaling on the stream.
Why D: ProvisionedThroughputExceededException occurs when a shard's write throughput exceeds 1 MB/s, often due to hot shards from uneven partition key distribution. While increasing shard count (Option A) can help spread the load, it does not automatically fix the root cause if partition keys remain skewed. The best action is to configure auto-scaling (Option D), which in Amazon Kinesis Data Streams can be achieved by switching to on-demand mode. On-demand mode automatically scales capacity based on traffic patterns, eliminating throttling without manual intervention. Option B decreases write capacity, worsening the issue. Option C only improves read throughput, not write.
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.