This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data ingestion and transformation. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A data engineer needs to transfer 50 TB of historical data from an on-premises HDFS cluster to Amazon S3. The network bandwidth is limited to 100 Mbps. The transfer must be completed within one week. Which service should be used?
AWS DataSync
Why wrong: Too slow for 50 TB over 100 Mbps in one week.
AWS Snowball
Physical device for large data transfers.
Amazon CloudFront
Why wrong: Not for data transfer.
AWS Database Migration Service (DMS)
Why wrong: Not for HDFS data.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
AWS Snowball
AWS Snowball is the correct choice because transferring 50 TB over a 100 Mbps network would take approximately 46 days (50 TB * 8 bits/byte / 100 Mbps / 86400 seconds/day), far exceeding the one-week deadline. Snowball provides a physical storage device that can be shipped to the on-premises location, allowing data to be loaded locally and shipped to AWS, bypassing network bandwidth constraints entirely.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
AWS DataSync
Why it's wrong here
Too slow for 50 TB over 100 Mbps in one week.
AWS Snowball
Why this is correct
Physical device for large data transfers.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Amazon CloudFront
Why it's wrong here
Not for data transfer.
AWS Database Migration Service (DMS)
Why it's wrong here
Not for HDFS data.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates may underestimate the time required for online transfer and choose AWS DataSync, failing to calculate that 50 TB at 100 Mbps takes over 46 days, not one week, and overlooking Snowball's physical shipping approach for offline data transfer.
Detailed technical explanation
AWS Snowball uses a ruggedized, tamper-resistant device with built-in storage and compute capabilities; for 50 TB, a single Snowball Edge Storage Optimized device (80 TB usable) suffices. The transfer process involves installing the Snowball client on-premises, copying data via the Snowball Edge's NFS or S3-compatible endpoint, and shipping the device back to AWS for ingestion into S3. This method is ideal for scenarios where network bandwidth is insufficient for large data volumes, as it eliminates network latency and congestion issues.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
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FAQ
Data Ingestion and Transformation — This question tests Data Ingestion and Transformation — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: AWS Snowball — AWS Snowball is the correct choice because transferring 50 TB over a 100 Mbps network would take approximately 46 days (50 TB * 8 bits/byte / 100 Mbps / 86400 seconds/day), far exceeding the one-week deadline. Snowball provides a physical storage device that can be shipped to the on-premises location, allowing data to be loaded locally and shipped to AWS, bypassing network bandwidth constraints entirely.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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.
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