DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
A data engineer is using Amazon Redshift and needs to load data from Amazon S3 into a table. The data is in Parquet format and is partitioned by date. The engineer wants to load only the latest partition and ensure that the load is efficient and cost-effective. Which method should the engineer use?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that the COPY command supports filtering with a WHERE clause, when in fact you must specify the exact S3 prefix to load a subset of data.
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 the COPY command with the FROM 's3://bucket/prefix/date=2023-10-01/' option to load only that partition.
The COPY command can load data directly from a specific S3 prefix, so specifying the exact partition prefix loads only that partition efficiently. This avoids unnecessary data transfer and cost. Using a WHERE clause with COPY is invalid, and alternatives like AWS Glue or Redshift Spectrum add complexity or do not load data into Redshift tables as required.
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 Glue to read the Parquet data, filter by the latest date, and write to Redshift.
Why it's wrong here
AWS Glue can perform the filtering, but it adds an extra service, development effort, and cost. The COPY command can directly load the specific partition without additional ETL. Using Glue is overkill for a simple partition load and introduces latency and operational overhead. The scenario asks for an efficient and cost-effective method, which direct COPY satisfies.
- ✓
Use the COPY command with the FROM 's3://bucket/prefix/date=2023-10-01/' option to load only that partition.
Why this is correct
The COPY command can load data from a specific S3 prefix. By specifying the exact prefix for the desired partition, the engineer loads only that partition's files. This is efficient and cost-effective because it avoids scanning and loading unnecessary data. Parquet format is natively supported, and the load will be fast and compressed.
- ✗
Use Amazon Redshift Spectrum to create an external table and query the latest partition.
Why it's wrong here
Redshift Spectrum allows querying data in S3 without loading, but it does not load data into Redshift tables. If the goal is to load data into a Redshift table for faster local queries, Spectrum is not appropriate. It also incurs separate charges and may not be as performant for repeated queries. The requirement is to load data, not just query externally.
- ✗
Use the COPY command with the FROM 's3://bucket/prefix' option and specify the partition column in the WHERE clause.
Why it's wrong here
The COPY command does not support a WHERE clause to filter data during load. It loads all files in the specified S3 prefix. To load only a specific partition, you must specify the exact S3 prefix for that partition. Using a WHERE clause is invalid syntax and would cause an error. This option reflects a misunderstanding of COPY capabilities.
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 |
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Amazon Web Services exam blueprint
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.