DEA-C01 Data Operations and Support Practice Question
A data engineer runs an AWS Glue Crawler that updates a table in the AWS Glue Data Catalog. The table is used by Amazon Athena queries. After the crawler runs, some queries start failing with the error 'HIVE_CANNOT_OPEN_SPLIT'. What is the most likely cause?
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
✓
The crawler updated the schema and the partition metadata is inconsistent with the actual data.
The error 'HIVE_CANNOT_OPEN_SPLIT' occurs when Athena attempts to read a partition but the metadata in the Glue Data Catalog does not match the actual data in S3. This is commonly caused by running an AWS Glue Crawler that updates the schema of a table (e.g., adding, removing, or changing column types) without updating the partition metadata accordingly. The crawler may update the table schema but leave existing partition metadata unchanged, leading to a mismatch. Option A correctly identifies this cause. Option B is incorrect because a permissions issue would result in an access denied error, not a split error. Option C is incorrect because while Athena has a limit on the number of partitions per table (currently 20,000), this limit would cause a different error or query failure, not 'HIVE_CANNOT_OPEN_SPLIT'. Option D is incorrect because concurrent queries can cause throttling or other issues but not this specific split error.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
The crawler updated the schema and the partition metadata is inconsistent with the actual data.
Why this is correct
Schema changes can cause split errors.
- ✗
The crawler does not have IAM permissions to read the S3 location.
Why it's wrong here
That would cause crawler failure, not query failure.
- ✗
The crawler created too many partitions, exceeding the Athena limit.
Why it's wrong here
Athena has a partition limit but that error is different.
- ✗
There are concurrent queries accessing the same table.
Why it's wrong here
Concurrent queries do not cause split errors.
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
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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.