DEA-C01 Data Ingestion and Transformation Practice Question
This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data ingestion and transformation. 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 engineering team needs to ingest streaming data from thousands of IoT devices. The data must be processed in near real-time and stored in Amazon S3 in Apache Parquet format partitioned by device_id and timestamp. Which combination of services should the team use to minimize operational overhead and cost?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "minimum / minimize"
Why it matters: Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Amazon Kinesis Data Streams, Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose, and optionally AWS Lambda.
Option D is correct. Kinesis Data Streams ingests streaming data, Kinesis Data Firehose delivers data to S3 with built-in Parquet conversion and partitioning, and optionally uses Lambda for lightweight transformations. Option A is wrong because EC2-based ingestion is high overhead. Option B is wrong because S3 Transfer Acceleration is for large file transfers, not streaming. Option C is wrong because Kafka and Flink require more operational overhead.
Key principle: NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Amazon Kinesis Data Streams, Amazon EC2 for processing, and Amazon S3 with lifecycle policies.
Why it's wrong here
EC2 adds operational overhead and is not serverless.
✗
Amazon MSK (Kafka), AWS Glue Streaming, and Amazon S3.
Why it's wrong here
MSK and Glue Streaming are valid but add more complexity compared to Kinesis Firehose.
✓
Amazon Kinesis Data Streams, Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose, and optionally AWS Lambda.
Why this is correct
Kinesis provides serverless ingestion and Firehose handles delivery, Parquet conversion, and partitioning.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
✗
Amazon S3 Transfer Acceleration and AWS Lambda for event-driven transformation.
Why it's wrong here
S3 Transfer Acceleration is for large file uploads, not streaming.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
→Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
→Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
→Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
Key takeaway
NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
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.
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related DEA-C01 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Data Ingestion and Transformation — This question tests Data Ingestion and Transformation — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Amazon Kinesis Data Streams, Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose, and optionally AWS Lambda. — Option D is correct. Kinesis Data Streams ingests streaming data, Kinesis Data Firehose delivers data to S3 with built-in Parquet conversion and partitioning, and optionally uses Lambda for lightweight transformations. Option A is wrong because EC2-based ingestion is high overhead. Option B is wrong because S3 Transfer Acceleration is for large file transfers, not streaming. Option C is wrong because Kafka and Flink require more operational overhead.
What should I do if I get this DEA-C01 question wrong?
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related DEA-C01 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "minimum / minimize". Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
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Question Discussion
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