DEA-C01 Data Ingestion and Transformation Practice Question
A data engineer needs to ingest data from an Amazon DynamoDB table into an Amazon S3 data lake. The table is updated frequently and the engineer must capture all item-level changes in near real-time without impacting table performance. The ingested data must be stored in a format that preserves the change type (INSERT, MODIFY, REMOVE). Which solution meets these requirements with the LEAST operational overhead?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that AWS DMS captures change type for DynamoDB, but it does not; it replicates the current state without indicating the operation.
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
✓
Enable DynamoDB Streams on the table and use AWS Lambda to read the stream and write the records to Amazon S3 in JSON format.
DynamoDB Streams provides a time-ordered sequence of item-level modifications in near real-time, and AWS Lambda can process these records and write them to S3. This serverless approach requires minimal operational overhead and preserves the change type. Other options either do not capture change type, are batch-oriented, or add unnecessary management overhead.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Enable DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) and use it to stream changes to Amazon S3.
Why it's wrong here
DAX is an in-memory cache for DynamoDB that speeds up reads; it does not capture changes or stream data to S3. It is not a change data capture mechanism. Using DAX would not provide the required near real-time change records with change type.
- ✗
Schedule an AWS Glue job to periodically scan the entire DynamoDB table and write the full dataset to Amazon S3.
Why it's wrong here
A periodic full scan does not capture item-level changes in near real-time and can impact table performance. It also does not preserve the change type. This approach is batch-oriented and would miss intermediate changes, and it adds operational overhead for managing Glue jobs.
- ✗
Use AWS Database Migration Service (AWS DMS) with ongoing replication to read from DynamoDB and write to Amazon S3.
Why it's wrong here
AWS DMS can read from DynamoDB but does not natively capture the change type (INSERT, MODIFY, REMOVE) in the output; it typically replicates the current state. Also, DMS requires managing replication instances, adding operational overhead. It is not the best fit for capturing all item-level changes with change type.
- ✓
Enable DynamoDB Streams on the table and use AWS Lambda to read the stream and write the records to Amazon S3 in JSON format.
Why this is correct
DynamoDB Streams captures item-level changes in near real-time and Lambda can process these records and write them to S3. This preserves the change type and requires no server management, meeting the low operational overhead requirement. It is the standard serverless pattern for DynamoDB change data capture to S3.
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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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.