DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
A data engineer needs to store semi-structured JSON logs from multiple microservices in a cost-effective manner for ad-hoc querying using SQL. Which AWS service should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse Amazon Athena with Amazon Kinesis Data Analytics, mistakenly thinking that Kinesis is the go-to service for SQL-based log analysis, when in fact Kinesis is for real-time streaming and Athena is the correct serverless query service for stored data in S3.
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
✓
Amazon Athena with data in S3
Amazon Athena is the correct choice because it allows you to query semi-structured JSON logs stored in S3 directly using standard SQL, without needing to load or transform the data. Athena's schema-on-read approach and pay-per-query pricing make it highly cost-effective for ad-hoc analysis of large volumes of log data, as you only pay for the data scanned during queries.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Amazon Athena with data in S3
Why this is correct
Athena can query JSON in S3 directly using SQL, cost-effective for ad-hoc queries.
- ✗
Amazon DynamoDB
Why it's wrong here
DynamoDB is a NoSQL key-value store, not designed for SQL queries on JSON logs.
- ✗
Amazon RDS for MySQL
Why it's wrong here
RDS requires schema definition and is not cost-effective for semi-structured logs.
- ✗
Amazon Kinesis Data Analytics
Why it's wrong here
Kinesis Data Analytics is for real-time streaming analytics, not ad-hoc queries.
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 |
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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.