The answer is AWS Glue with a scheduled ETL job. This is the most appropriate choice because Glue is purpose-built for serverless, managed ETL workflows that can extract data from Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL and write it to Amazon S3 on a daily batch schedule, handling 500 GB per day efficiently without provisioning servers. On the AWS Certified Data Engineer Associate DEA-C01 exam, this question tests your ability to distinguish between services for batch data movement versus continuous replication or ad-hoc querying—a common trap is confusing AWS DMS, which is designed for ongoing database migration and change data capture, not for scheduled daily batch ETL. Remember that Glue’s built-in scheduler and crawlers make it ideal for recurring batch jobs, while Athena is only for querying data already in S3, and EMR is overkill for a straightforward RDS-to-S3 transfer. Memory tip: think “Glue sticks RDS to S3 on a schedule.”
DEA-C01 Data Ingestion and Transformation Practice Question
This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data ingestion and transformation. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A data engineer needs to ingest data from an Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL database into Amazon S3 on a daily basis. The data volume is approximately 500 GB per day. Which service is most appropriate for this task?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
AWS Glue with a scheduled ETL job
Option B is correct because AWS Glue can run ETL jobs to extract data from RDS and write to S3. Option A is wrong because AWS DMS is for database migration and continuous replication, not for daily batch jobs. Option C is wrong because Amazon Athena is a query service, not for data transfer. Option D is wrong because Amazon EMR is for big data processing and is overkill for this simple task.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) with continuous replication
Why it's wrong here
DMS is designed for migration and continuous replication, not scheduled daily batch.
✗
Amazon Athena with federated query to RDS
Why it's wrong here
Athena queries data in place; it does not transfer data to S3.
✗
Amazon EMR with Spark job
Why it's wrong here
EMR is complex and overkill for this simple batch transfer.
✓
AWS Glue with a scheduled ETL job
Why this is correct
AWS Glue can run scheduled ETL jobs to extract from RDS and load to S3.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which DEA-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Data Ingestion and Transformation — This question tests Data Ingestion and Transformation — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: AWS Glue with a scheduled ETL job — Option B is correct because AWS Glue can run ETL jobs to extract data from RDS and write to S3. Option A is wrong because AWS DMS is for database migration and continuous replication, not for daily batch jobs. Option C is wrong because Amazon Athena is a query service, not for data transfer. Option D is wrong because Amazon EMR is for big data processing and is overkill for this simple task.
What should I do if I get this DEA-C01 question wrong?
Identify which DEA-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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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.
Question Discussion
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