DEA-C01 Data Operations and Support Practice Question
A data engineer is using AWS Step Functions to orchestrate a daily ETL pipeline that includes an AWS Glue job, an Amazon EMR step, and an Amazon Redshift stored procedure. The pipeline occasionally fails with the error 'States.TaskFailed' from the Glue job, but the Glue job's own logs show that it completed successfully. The Step Functions execution history shows that the Glue job task timed out after 15 minutes, while the Glue job actually ran for 18 minutes. The Step Functions state machine uses the optimized Glue service integration with a TaskTimeout of 900 seconds. Which change will allow the pipeline to complete successfully without reducing the Glue job's runtime?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is believing that a Retry policy or more DPUs will solve a timeout, when the real issue is that the Step Functions TaskTimeout is shorter than the job's runtime.
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
✓
Increase the Step Functions TaskTimeout to a value greater than the Glue job's maximum expected runtime, such as 3600 seconds.
The Step Functions task failed because its TaskTimeout was shorter than the Glue job's actual runtime. The optimized Glue service integration waits for the job to complete, but if the task exceeds the TaskTimeout, Step Functions marks it as failed even though the Glue job continues. Setting the TaskTimeout to a value greater than the job's maximum expected runtime ensures the state machine waits for the job to finish successfully.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Change the Step Functions integration from the optimized Glue service integration to the AWS SDK integration with a longer timeout.
Why it's wrong here
Switching to the AWS SDK integration (e.g., calling StartJobRun and then polling) would require additional states to wait for completion and would not inherently solve the timeout unless the polling logic is designed to wait indefinitely. The optimized integration already handles waiting, so the simpler fix is to increase the TaskTimeout. Changing the integration type adds complexity without guaranteeing a fix.
- ✗
Add a Retry policy with a maximum of 3 attempts and an interval of 60 seconds to the Glue job task.
Why it's wrong here
A Retry policy would cause Step Functions to retry the Glue job task, but the underlying issue is that the task times out before the job finishes. Retrying would start a new Glue job run, potentially duplicating work and still hitting the same timeout if the job consistently runs longer than 900 seconds. Retries do not extend the timeout; they only repeat the task, which is not a solution here.
- ✗
Reduce the Glue job's runtime by increasing the number of DPUs so it finishes within 15 minutes.
Why it's wrong here
Increasing DPUs might speed up the Glue job, but the question states that the pipeline should complete without reducing the Glue job's runtime. Moreover, the job's runtime may be dominated by non-parallelizable steps, so adding DPUs may not bring it under 15 minutes. The direct fix is to align the Step Functions timeout with the job's expected duration, not to alter the job's execution time.
- ✓
Increase the Step Functions TaskTimeout to a value greater than the Glue job's maximum expected runtime, such as 3600 seconds.
Why this is correct
The Step Functions task timed out because its TaskTimeout was set to 900 seconds, but the Glue job took 18 minutes (1080 seconds). The optimized Glue service integration waits for the job to finish, and if the task exceeds the TaskTimeout, Step Functions fails the task even if the Glue job continues running. Increasing the TaskTimeout to a value larger than the job's maximum runtime, such as 3600 seconds, allows Step Functions to wait for completion without timing out.
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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
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