DEA-C01 Data Operations and Support Practice Question
A data engineer is setting up a new Amazon Redshift cluster for a data warehouse. The engineer wants to ensure data durability and high availability. Which THREE features should the engineer consider? (Choose three.)
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
✓
Cross-Region snapshot copy.
Options B, C, and E are correct. B: Cross-Region snapshot copy allows copying snapshots to another AWS Region, protecting against regional disasters. C: Multi-node clusters with data replication within the cluster provide high availability by distributing data across nodes and automatically mirroring data. E: Automated snapshots to Amazon S3 enable point-in-time recovery for durability. Option A is incorrect because S3 Cross-Region Replication applies to S3, not directly to Redshift data. Option D is incorrect because Redshift does not support Multi-AZ deployments; it relies on automatic failover within the cluster using multiple nodes.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
S3 Cross-Region Replication for Redshift data.
Why it's wrong here
Redshift does not directly use S3 CRR.
- ✓
Cross-Region snapshot copy.
Why this is correct
Cross-Region copies protect against region failures.
- ✓
Multi-node cluster with data replication.
Why this is correct
Multi-node clusters replicate data across nodes.
- ✗
Multi-AZ deployment for automatic failover.
Why it's wrong here
Redshift does not support Multi-AZ; it uses automatic failover within an AZ.
- ✓
Automated snapshots to Amazon S3.
Why this is correct
Snapshots enable recovery from failures.
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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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 setting up an Amazon Redshift cluster for a new data warehouse. The engineer needs to ensure that the cluster can automatically recover from failures and maintain high availability. Which TWO actions should the engineer take? (Choose TWO.)
medium- A.Configure workload management (WLM) queues to prioritize critical queries.
- ✓ B.Configure automated snapshots with a retention period of 1 day and enable cluster recreation from snapshots.
- ✓ C.Enable Multi-AZ deployment.
- D.Enable concurrency scaling.
- E.Configure manual snapshots with cross-region copy.
Why B: (Configure automated snapshots with a retention period of 1 day and enable cluster recreation from snapshots) and Option C (Enable Multi-AZ deployment) are correct. Amazon Redshift supports Multi-AZ deployments for high availability, providing automatic failover to a standby cluster in another Availability Zone in case of failure. Automated snapshots allow point-in-time recovery and enable the cluster to be recreated from a snapshot if the primary cluster fails, ensuring data durability and recovery. Option A is incorrect because WLM queues manage query concurrency and priority, not availability. Option D is incorrect because concurrency scaling improves performance for concurrent queries, not availability. Option E is incorrect because manual snapshots require manual intervention and do not automatically recover from failures.
Variation 2. A data engineer is troubleshooting an Amazon Redshift cluster that has experienced a node failure. The engineer needs to ensure that the cluster is highly available and can withstand a single node failure with minimal downtime. Which TWO actions should the engineer take?
medium- ✓ A.Enable automated snapshots with cross-region copy.
- B.Enable concurrency scaling to handle increased read traffic.
- C.Deploy the cluster as a single-node cluster for simplicity.
- D.Place the cluster in a public subnet with an internet gateway.
- ✓ E.Use a multi-node cluster with RA3 node types.
Why A: Options A and E are considered correct for ensuring high availability in Amazon Redshift. Option A: Automated snapshots with cross-region copy enable recovery from a node failure by restoring data from a snapshot in another region, which reduces downtime but does not guarantee zero downtime. Option E: A multi-node cluster with RA3 node types separates compute and storage, allowing faster node replacement and minimizing downtime, though it does not eliminate it entirely. The exam expects these as the best actions among the given choices to improve availability and withstand a single node failure.
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.