DEA-C01 Data Ingestion and Transformation Practice Question

A data engineer needs to schedule a daily AWS Glue ETL job that transforms data in Amazon S3. The job must run at 2:00 AM UTC every day. What is the simplest way to achieve this?

⚠ Common exam trap

The trap here is overcomplicating the solution by using external orchestration services when AWS Glue provides a native scheduling mechanism.

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

✓

Create an AWS Glue trigger of type SCHEDULED with a cron expression.

The simplest way to schedule a Glue job is to use an AWS Glue scheduled trigger with a cron expression. It is a built-in feature that directly starts the job at the specified time. Other options involve additional services like Lambda, EventBridge, or Step Functions, which add complexity without benefit for a single scheduled job.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

✗
Use AWS Step Functions with a Wait state and a Glue task to run the job daily.
Why it's wrong here
Step Functions can orchestrate Glue jobs, but it requires defining a state machine and managing execution roles. For a simple daily schedule, this is overkill. Step Functions are better for complex workflows with branching and error handling. A Glue trigger is the simplest native option.
✓
Create an AWS Glue trigger of type SCHEDULED with a cron expression.
Why this is correct
AWS Glue triggers can be scheduled with a cron expression. You can create a trigger that fires at 2:00 AM UTC daily and starts the Glue job. This is the native and simplest method within AWS Glue, requiring no external services. It integrates directly with the job and provides status monitoring.
✗
Use Amazon EventBridge to schedule a Lambda function that calls the Glue StartJobRun API.
Why it's wrong here
This approach works but is more complex, requiring a Lambda function and EventBridge rule. It introduces additional components and potential points of failure. While EventBridge is powerful, for a simple daily schedule, a Glue trigger is simpler and more direct. The question asks for the simplest way.
✗
Configure an AWS Glue workflow with a schedule and add the job as a starting trigger.
Why it's wrong here
AWS Glue workflows can include scheduled triggers, but they are designed for orchestrating multiple jobs with dependencies. For a single job, a standalone scheduled trigger is simpler. Workflows add unnecessary complexity when only one job needs to run on a schedule.

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

DEA-C01 Data Ingestion and Transformation Practice Question

Why each option matters

Option-by-option breakdown

AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison

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