DEA-C01 Data Operations and Support Practice Question
A data engineer needs to implement a data pipeline that ingests data from an on-premises database using AWS DMS and loads it into Amazon S3 in Parquet format. The data should be encrypted at rest in S3 using a customer-managed KMS key. Which combination of actions should the engineer take? (Choose the correct course of action.)
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
✓
Configure the DMS task to write to S3 in Parquet format, and specify the KMS key ID in the S3 endpoint settings.
AWS DMS can directly write data to Amazon S3 in Parquet format when configuring the DMS task. To encrypt data at rest with a customer-managed KMS key, you specify the KMS key ID in the S3 endpoint settings. This allows DMS to encrypt objects with the specified KMS key as they are written to S3. Option B is incorrect because it introduces an unnecessary EC2 instance; DMS can write Parquet directly without an intermediate conversion step. Option C is incorrect because DMS can write Parquet directly; converting JSON to Parquet with Glue adds complexity and is not required. Option D is incorrect because a bucket policy requiring KMS encryption does not automatically encrypt data written by DMS; the encryption must be configured in the DMS task or endpoint settings.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Configure the DMS task to write to S3 in Parquet format, and specify the KMS key ID in the S3 endpoint settings.
Why this is correct
DMS S3 endpoint supports KMS encryption and Parquet format.
- ✗
Set up an EC2 instance to run a script that reads from the source and writes Parquet to S3 with KMS encryption.
Why it's wrong here
Unnecessary complexity; DMS can handle it.
- ✗
Use DMS to write JSON to S3, then use an AWS Glue job to convert to Parquet and enable KMS encryption on the Glue job.
Why it's wrong here
Unnecessary conversion; DMS can write Parquet directly.
- ✗
Configure the S3 bucket policy to require KMS encryption for all objects, and use DMS with default settings.
Why it's wrong here
Bucket policy alone does not enforce encryption in DMS.
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
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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.