DEA-C01 Data Operations and Support Practice Question
A data engineer is using AWS Step Functions to orchestrate a series of AWS Glue jobs. During a recent run, a Glue job failed due to a transient network issue, and the Step Functions execution stopped. The engineer needs to ensure that the workflow can automatically retry the failed Glue job up to three times before considering the step failed. Which Step Functions state configuration should the engineer implement?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse the Catch field with the Retry field, or assuming Glue jobs have built-in retry settings.
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
✓
Add a Retry field to the Task state with ErrorEquals set to States.ALL and MaxAttempts set to 3.
The Retry field in Step Functions is designed to automatically retry a task when specified errors occur. By setting ErrorEquals to States.ALL and MaxAttempts to 3, the Glue job will be retried up to three times on any error, including transient network issues. The Catch field is for fallback, not retry. Glue job definitions do not have a retry count, and timeout/heartbeat fields are for monitoring, not retry logic.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Set the TimeoutSeconds and HeartbeatSeconds fields in the Task state to trigger a retry on failure.
Why it's wrong here
TimeoutSeconds and HeartbeatSeconds are used to detect timeouts and heartbeats, not to retry on failure. They can cause a task to fail if it exceeds the timeout or misses a heartbeat, but they do not provide retry logic. To retry, the Retry field is needed. These fields are for monitoring task health, not for handling transient errors.
- ✗
Add a Catch field to the Task state with ErrorEquals set to States.ALL and Next set to a retry state.
Why it's wrong here
The Catch field is used to transition to a fallback state when an error occurs, not to retry the same task. It would move the execution to a different state, which could be a retry state, but that requires additional custom logic and does not automatically retry the task. The Catch field alone does not provide the retry mechanism with a specified number of attempts.
- ✓
Add a Retry field to the Task state with ErrorEquals set to States.ALL and MaxAttempts set to 3.
Why this is correct
The Retry field in a Step Functions Task state allows automatic retries on specified errors. Setting ErrorEquals to States.ALL catches all errors, and MaxAttempts to 3 retries the task up to three times. This is the correct way to handle transient failures in Glue jobs orchestrated by Step Functions. It ensures the workflow does not fail immediately and provides resilience.
- ✗
Configure the Glue job itself to have a maximum retry count of 3 in its job definition.
Why it's wrong here
AWS Glue job definitions do not have a built-in maximum retry count parameter. Retries for Glue jobs are typically managed by the orchestrator, such as Step Functions or Glue workflows. While Glue workflows have retry settings, the scenario specifies Step Functions orchestration. Configuring retries at the Glue job level is not applicable here and would not affect Step Functions execution.
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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.