DEA-C01 Data Operations and Support Practice Question
This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data operations and support. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 notices that an Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL instance's CPU utilization is consistently above 90% during business hours. The database is used for reporting queries. Which action should be taken FIRST to improve performance?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "first"
Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Enable Performance Insights and review slow queries.
Option B is correct because the first step in diagnosing high CPU utilization on an RDS for PostgreSQL instance used for reporting queries is to identify the root cause. Enabling Performance Insights provides a detailed view of database load, wait events, and SQL query performance, allowing the data engineer to pinpoint slow or inefficient queries that are consuming CPU resources. Without this diagnostic data, any other action would be premature and could lead to unnecessary cost or complexity.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Enable Multi-AZ deployment for automatic failover.
Why it's wrong here
Multi-AZ does not improve performance.
✓
Enable Performance Insights and review slow queries.
Why this is correct
Identifying and optimizing slow queries reduces CPU usage.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Create a read replica to offload reporting queries.
Why it's wrong here
Read replicas reduce read load but not CPU of the primary instance.
✗
Increase the instance size to a larger instance class.
Why it's wrong here
Scaling up is a temporary fix; better to optimize queries first.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often jump to scaling solutions (like increasing instance size or adding a read replica) without first diagnosing the root cause, but AWS emphasizes observability and optimization before capacity changes.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Performance Insights uses a performance schema and wait event analysis to break down database load by SQL query, host, or user, exposing which queries are consuming the most CPU. In PostgreSQL, high CPU often stems from missing indexes, full table scans, or poorly written joins; Performance Insights can surface these queries along with their execution plans. A real-world scenario might involve a reporting query that performs a sequential scan on a large table, which a read replica would replicate rather than fix, whereas Performance Insights would immediately highlight the query as the top CPU consumer.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Data Operations and Support — This question tests Data Operations and Support — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Enable Performance Insights and review slow queries. — Option B is correct because the first step in diagnosing high CPU utilization on an RDS for PostgreSQL instance used for reporting queries is to identify the root cause. Enabling Performance Insights provides a detailed view of database load, wait events, and SQL query performance, allowing the data engineer to pinpoint slow or inefficient queries that are consuming CPU resources. Without this diagnostic data, any other action would be premature and could lead to unnecessary cost or complexity.
What should I do if I get this DEA-C01 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "first". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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