DEA-C01 Data Operations and Support Practice Question

A data engineer needs to transfer 10 TB of data from an on-premises data center to Amazon S3. The network bandwidth is limited to 100 Mbps, and the data transfer must be completed within 5 days. What is the most cost-effective solution?

⚠ Common exam trap

A common mix-up: candidates assume S3 Transfer Acceleration or DataSync can magically overcome bandwidth limitations, but they only optimize the path, not increase the pipe size, so the math of bandwidth vs. data volume always dictates the minimum transfer time.

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

✓

Use AWS Snowball Edge to physically ship the data.

With 10 TB of data and a 100 Mbps link, the theoretical transfer time over the internet is approximately 10 days (10 TB * 8 / 100 Mbps = 800,000 seconds ≈ 9.26 days), which exceeds the 5-day requirement. AWS Snowball Edge is the most cost-effective solution because it bypasses the network bottleneck entirely by physically shipping the data, and it is designed for large-scale data transfers where network constraints make online transfer impractical.

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 Snowball Edge to physically ship the data.
Why this is correct
At 100 Mbps, transferring 10 TB over the network would take roughly ten days, exceeding the five-day deadline. AWS Snowball Edge ships data physically, bypassing bandwidth limits and completing well within the window at lower cost.
✗
Use S3 Transfer Acceleration to speed up the transfer over the internet.
Why it's wrong here
Transfer Acceleration speeds transfers over the public internet using edge locations; it cannot raise the 100 Mbps origin uplink, so 10 TB still exceeds five days. It suits accelerating transfers from globally distributed clients with adequate source bandwidth, not a constrained on-premises link.
✗
Use AWS DataSync over the internet to transfer the data.
Why it's wrong here
DataSync over the internet is still bounded by the 100 Mbps uplink, so 10 TB cannot finish within five days. It is tempting because DataSync automates and schedules transfers, and it would be correct where bandwidth is sufficient or a higher-capacity link exists.
✗
Set up an AWS Direct Connect connection to increase bandwidth.
Why it's wrong here
Provisioning Direct Connect takes weeks and its dedicated bandwidth carries recurring port and data-transfer charges, so it cannot meet the five-day deadline cost-effectively. It is the right choice for sustained high-volume hybrid traffic, not a one-off constrained transfer.

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 Operations and Support Practice Question

Why each option matters

Option-by-option breakdown

AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison

Related to this question