DEA-C01 Data Operations and Support Practice Question
A data engineer needs to monitor the number of records processed by an AWS Glue ETL job. Which CloudWatch metric should the engineer use?
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
✓
glue.driver.aggregate.numRecords
Glue emits a 'glue.driver.aggregate.numRecords' metric for the number of records processed. Option A is wrong because 'glue.driver.aggregate.elapsedTime' is for time. Option C is wrong because 'glue.driver.aggregate.bytesRead' is for bytes. Option D is wrong because 'glue.driver.aggregate.recordsRead' is not a standard metric.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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glue.driver.aggregate.elapsedTime
Why it's wrong here
glue.driver.aggregate.elapsedTime reports wall-clock duration of the job, not record counts; the engineer needs glue.driver.aggregate.numCompletedTasks or records read/written metrics. It tempts because it is a genuine Glue driver metric, and would be correct when diagnosing job runtime or performance bottlenecks.
- ✓
glue.driver.aggregate.numRecords
Why this is correct
The glue.driver.aggregate.numRecords metric reports the total record count processed by an AWS Glue ETL job, aggregated at the driver. It directly answers the requirement to monitor how many records the job handles, unlike per-executor or duration metrics.
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glue.driver.aggregate.bytesRead
Why it's wrong here
bytesRead measures data volume in bytes, not record counts, so it cannot report how many records the job processed. It is tempting because it is a genuine driver aggregate metric, and it would be the right choice when monitoring I/O throughput or data transfer volume rather than record quantity.
- ✗
glue.driver.aggregate.recordsRead
Why it's wrong here
glue.driver.aggregate.recordsRead counts records read from sources, not records processed through the job's transforms and writes. It tempts because it is a genuine Glue driver metric, and would suit monitoring input volume or source throughput. The stem asks for records processed, which glue.driver.aggregate.numCompletedTasks or the job's processed-record metric covers.
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Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on DEA-C01
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A data engineer needs to monitor the number of records processed by an AWS Glue ETL job and send an alert if the count drops below a threshold. Which AWS service should be used to create this custom metric?
easy- A.Amazon S3
- B.AWS Config
- ✓ C.Amazon CloudWatch
- D.AWS CloudTrail
Why C: Amazon CloudWatch is the correct service for creating custom metrics because it allows you to publish your own data points, such as the number of records processed by an AWS Glue ETL job. You can use the CloudWatch PutMetricData API or the AWS Glue job script to emit a custom metric, then set an alarm on that metric to trigger an alert when the count drops below a threshold.
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.