DEA-C01 Data Operations and Support Practice Question
A data engineer is troubleshooting an AWS Step Functions workflow that calls a Lambda function to process data. The workflow sometimes fails with a 'StateMachineExecutionLimitExceeded' error. What is the MOST likely cause?
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
✓
Number of concurrent executions exceeds the account limit
The error 'StateMachineExecutionLimitExceeded' indicates that the account's limit for concurrent Step Functions executions has been exceeded. Option A correctly identifies this as the most likely cause. Option B would result in an 'ExecutionTimedOut' error, not a limit error. Option C would cause a Lambda-specific error, such as 'MemorySize', not a Step Functions limit error. Option D would result in a Lambda throttling error, not a state machine execution limit error.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Number of concurrent executions exceeds the account limit
Why this is correct
Step Functions has a default limit of 1 million state transitions per account; exceeding it causes this error.
- ✗
Execution time exceeds the maximum allowed duration
Why it's wrong here
That would cause a timeout error, not execution limit exceeded.
- ✗
Lambda function memory limit exceeded
Why it's wrong here
Memory errors are reported by Lambda, not Step Functions.
- ✗
Lambda function concurrency limit reached
Why it's wrong here
Lambda throttling would produce a different error.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
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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.