Question 1,541 of 1,711
DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
A data engineer notices that an Amazon Redshift cluster's storage utilization has grown unexpectedly. The cluster uses automatic compression and has a mix of fact and dimension tables. The engineer runs VACUUM and ANALYZE, but storage does not decrease. Which action is most likely to reduce storage consumption?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse VACUUM's space reclamation (which only removes deleted rows) with the need to physically rebuild the table to reapply compression, assuming VACUUM or ANALYZE can fix storage bloat caused by suboptimal encodings.
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
✓
Perform a DEEP COPY on the largest tables.
DEEP COPY recreates the table with a fresh, optimally sorted and compressed storage layout, reclaiming space that VACUUM alone cannot recover. In Redshift, VACUUM reorganizes and reclaims space from deleted rows but does not re-apply compression or rebuild the underlying storage blocks; DEEP COPY (e.g., using CREATE TABLE AS or the DEEP COPY command) physically rewrites the data, eliminating fragmentation and applying the current compression encoding, which can significantly reduce storage consumption when automatic compression has left suboptimal encodings or when historical updates have bloated the table.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Perform a DEEP COPY on the largest tables.
Why this is correct
DEEP COPY recreates the table with optimal compression, reclaiming storage from deleted rows and reorganizing data.
- ✗
Run VACUUM with the BOOST option.
Why it's wrong here
VACUUM reclaims space from deleted rows, but if no significant deletes occurred, it won't reduce storage; DEEP COPY is more effective.
- ✗
Run ANALYZE with the FULL keyword on all tables.
Why it's wrong here
ANALYZE updates query statistics but does not physically delete data or reclaim storage.
- ✗
Modify the sort key on the largest tables to a more selective column.
Why it's wrong here
Changing sort keys does not free up storage; it only reorders data.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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