DEA-C01 Data Ingestion and Transformation Practice Question
A data engineer is using AWS Glue to run an ETL job that reads data from Amazon DynamoDB and writes to Amazon Redshift. The job fails with a 'ThroughputExceededException' 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
✓
The DynamoDB table's read capacity is insufficient for the Glue job's read rate
The 'ThroughputExceededException' error occurs when AWS Glue reads from DynamoDB at a rate that exceeds the table's provisioned read capacity, causing DynamoDB to throttle requests. Option A is incorrect because a timeout setting would result in a different error (e.g., 'Job run timeout'). Option B is incorrect because Redshift concurrency scaling affects query performance, not DynamoDB read throttling. Option D is incorrect because S3 permissions issues would cause 'AccessDenied' errors, not throughput exceedance.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The Glue job has a timeout setting that is too low
Why it's wrong here
Timeout would cause a different error.
- ✗
The Redshift cluster's concurrency scaling is insufficient
Why it's wrong here
Redshift concurrency scaling is for queries, not for Glue writes.
- ✓
The DynamoDB table's read capacity is insufficient for the Glue job's read rate
Why this is correct
Glue reads from DynamoDB and may exceed provisioned read capacity, causing throttling.
- ✗
The S3 bucket where Glue writes temporary data does not have proper permissions
Why it's wrong here
Permissions issues cause AccessDenied errors, not ThroughputExceeded.
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
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 1,711 original DEA-C01 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.