DEA-C01 Data Ingestion and Transformation Practice Question
A data engineer is tasked with ingesting on-premises database snapshots (full load) into Amazon S3 on a daily basis. The database is PostgreSQL and the snapshot size is 50 GB. The network link is 1 Gbps. Which approach is the MOST time-efficient and cost-effective?
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
✓
Use AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) with S3 as target.
AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) is a managed service that efficiently performs full loads from on-premises PostgreSQL to Amazon S3, handling schema conversion and data transfer automatically. For a 50 GB snapshot over a 1 Gbps link, the transfer takes approximately 7 minutes, making Snowball (Option B) overkill and more expensive. Option C (AWS CLI) would require manual steps and is less efficient for database snapshots. Option D (Lambda + pg_dump) adds unnecessary complexity and potential performance issues. Therefore, DMS is the most time-efficient and cost-effective approach.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Use AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) with S3 as target.
Why this is correct
DMS can perform full loads from on-premises PostgreSQL to S3 in a managed and scalable way.
- ✗
Use AWS Snowball Edge to transfer the snapshot.
Why it's wrong here
Snowball is designed for large data transfers over slow networks; for 50 GB at 1 Gbps, network transfer is faster.
- ✗
Use AWS CLI to copy the snapshot file directly to S3.
Why it's wrong here
Requires manual scripting and the snapshot must be exported; less efficient than a managed service.
- ✗
Write a Lambda function to run pg_dump and upload to S3.
Why it's wrong here
Custom code and manual management; DMS is a better fit for database migration.
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 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.