DEA-C01 Data Operations and Support Practice Question
A data engineer notices that an AWS Glue ETL job processing data from Amazon S3 to Amazon Redshift has been failing intermittently with the error 'S3ServiceException: SlowDown'. Which action is MOST likely to resolve this issue?
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
✓
Implement exponential backoff and retry logic in the Glue job.
The 'S3ServiceException: SlowDown' error indicates that the AWS Glue job is making requests to Amazon S3 at a rate that exceeds the bucket's request rate limits. Implementing exponential backoff and retry logic (option C) is the most effective solution because it reduces the effective request rate by introducing delays between retries, allowing S3 to recover from throttling. Option A is incorrect because increasing partitions would likely increase the number of concurrent requests, exacerbating throttling. Option B is incorrect because switching to a larger worker type does not affect the rate of S3 requests. Option D is incorrect because S3 Transfer Acceleration improves network transfer speed but does not reduce request throttling.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Increase the number of partitions in the Glue job to parallelize reads.
Why it's wrong here
Increasing partitions multiplies concurrent GET requests, worsening the throttling that triggers SlowDown; S3 returns this when request rates per prefix exceed limits. Partitioning suits throughput-bound jobs reading few large objects, where parallelising across key ranges genuinely raises aggregate bandwidth rather than aggravating per-prefix request pressure.
- ✗
Switch from a Standard to a G.2X large Glue worker type.
Why it's wrong here
SlowDown is S3 request throttling, so a larger worker type increases concurrent requests and worsens it. It is tempting because G.2X workers accelerate CPU-heavy jobs, and would be correct for memory-intensive transforms, not for rate-limit errors requiring retry or request pacing.
- ✓
Implement exponential backoff and retry logic in the Glue job.
Why this is correct
S3 SlowDown is a throttling response signalling too many concurrent requests to a partition. Exponential backoff with retries spaces requests progressively, letting the Glue job ride out the throttle rather than failing, which resolves the intermittent S3ServiceException errors.
- ✗
Enable S3 Transfer Acceleration on the source bucket.
Why it's wrong here
Transfer Acceleration speeds transfers over long geographic distances via edge locations; it does not raise S3's per-prefix request-rate ceiling, so SlowDown persists. It is the right choice when clients upload from distant regions and latency, not throttling, limits throughput.
Visual reference
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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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.