The answer is PercentageDiskSpace with a threshold greater than 80 for 5 minutes and CPUUtilization with a threshold greater than 90 for 10 minutes. These two metrics directly map to the monitoring needs for an Amazon Redshift cluster, where disk space and CPU are the primary resources that can bottleneck query performance and cluster stability. On the AWS Certified Data Engineer Associate DEA-C01 exam, this question tests your ability to distinguish between relevant Redshift CloudWatch alarm metrics and common distractors like WLM queue length or network throughput, which are unrelated to disk or CPU thresholds. A frequent trap is confusing workload management metrics with resource utilization, so remember that Redshift exposes PercentageDiskSpace and CPUUtilization as dedicated namespace metrics for cluster-level alarms. Memory tip: think "Disk 80, CPU 90" for the two critical resource ceilings that trigger scaling or investigation.
DEA-C01 Data Operations and Support Practice Question
This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data operations and support. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 setting up Amazon CloudWatch alarms for an Amazon Redshift cluster. The engineer wants to be alerted when the disk space usage exceeds 80% for more than 5 minutes and when the CPU utilization exceeds 90% for more than 10 minutes. Which TWO CloudWatch metrics and conditions should the engineer use? (Choose two.)
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Metric: CPUUtilization; Condition: > 90 for 10 minutes
Options B and D are correct. Option B: PercentageDiskSpace metric with threshold 80. Option D: CPUUtilization metric with threshold 90. Option A is wrong because WLM is not for disk. Option C is wrong because NetworkReceiveThroughput is not relevant. Option E is wrong because DatabaseConnections is not about CPU.
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.
✓
Metric: CPUUtilization; Condition: > 90 for 10 minutes
Why this is correct
This alarm triggers on CPU usage.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Metric: DatabaseConnections; Condition: > 500 for 5 minutes
Why it's wrong here
Database connections are not about CPU.
✗
Metric: NetworkReceiveThroughput; Condition: > 1 GB for 10 minutes
Why it's wrong here
Network throughput is not related to CPU.
✗
Metric: WLMQueueLength; Condition: > 100 for 5 minutes
Why it's wrong here
WLM queue length is about query queuing, not disk.
✓
Metric: PercentageDiskSpace; Condition: > 80 for 5 minutes
Why this is correct
This alarm triggers on disk usage.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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 healthcare organisation deploys an application with a public-facing web tier and a private database tier. The database subnet has no public IP and only accepts connections from the web tier's security group. Questions like this test whether you can design cloud network isolation using VNets/VPCs, subnets, and security group rules.
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: Metric: CPUUtilization; Condition: > 90 for 10 minutes — Options B and D are correct. Option B: PercentageDiskSpace metric with threshold 80. Option D: CPUUtilization metric with threshold 90. Option A is wrong because WLM is not for disk. Option C is wrong because NetworkReceiveThroughput is not relevant. Option E is wrong because DatabaseConnections is not about CPU.
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 →
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
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
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.