DEA-C01 Data Ingestion and Transformation Practice Question
A data engineer needs to ingest data from an external FTP server into S3 on a schedule. The FTP server is only accessible via VPN. Which AWS service is best suited for this task?
⚠ Common exam trap
The DEA-C01 exam often tests the distinction between services that support FTP natively (Transfer Family) versus those that only handle file transfers over NFS/SMB or via physical devices, leading candidates to mistakenly choose DataSync or Snowcone for FTP-based ingestion.
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
✓
AWS Transfer Family
AWS Transfer Family supports FTP, FTPS, and SFTP protocols and can be integrated with a VPC using Elastic IPs or a VPC endpoint, enabling secure access to an FTP server reachable only via VPN. It automates the transfer of files from the external FTP server to Amazon S3 on a schedule without requiring custom code or infrastructure management.
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 Transfer Family
Why this is correct
Supports FTP and integrates with VPN.
- ✗
AWS Snowcone
Why it's wrong here
Snowcone is for offline transfer.
- ✗
AWS Glue with a Python shell
Why it's wrong here
Glue can read from FTP but is not optimized for scheduled ingestion.
- ✗
AWS DataSync
Why it's wrong here
DataSync does not support FTP protocol.
Quick reference
VPN Protocol Comparison
| Protocol | Port | Encryption | Authentication | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IKEv2 / IPsec | UDP 500 / 4500 | AES-256 | Certificates / PSK | Site-to-site & remote access |
| SSL / TLS VPN | TCP 443 | TLS 1.3 | Certificates / MFA | Clientless remote access |
| L2TP / IPsec | UDP 1701 | AES (IPsec) | PSK / Certificates | Legacy remote access |
| WireGuard | UDP 51820 | ChaCha20 | Public keys | Modern high-performance VPN |
| PPTP | TCP 1723 | MPPE (weak) | MS-CHAPv2 | Legacy — avoid in production |
PPTP is considered insecure. IKEv2/IPsec and SSL VPN are the current recommended options.
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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.