DEA-C01 Data Ingestion and Transformation Practice Question
A data engineering team needs to load data from an on-premises Oracle database to Amazon S3 daily. The data volume is about 50 GB per day, and the network bandwidth is 100 Mbps. The team wants to minimize operational overhead and use AWS managed services. Which solution should they choose?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse AWS DataSync's ability to transfer files with database migration, overlooking that DataSync cannot interpret database schemas or perform logical replication, while DMS is the only managed service that directly handles database-to-S3 ingestion with CDC.
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
✓
Use AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) to migrate the data to S3.
AWS DMS is the correct choice because it is purpose-built for migrating databases to AWS with minimal operational overhead. It can connect to an on-premises Oracle database via a JDBC or native Oracle connection, perform a full load, and then continuously replicate changes to an S3 target in Parquet or CSV format. With 50 GB/day over 100 Mbps (about 10.8 GB/hour theoretical max), the full load can complete in under 5 hours, and ongoing replication handles daily increments without manual intervention.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Use AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) to migrate the data to S3.
Why this is correct
DMS supports ongoing replication and scheduled migrations from Oracle to S3.
- ✗
Use AWS DataSync to copy the database files directly to S3.
Why it's wrong here
DataSync is for file-based transfers, not database tables.
- ✗
Use AWS Glue with a JDBC connection and schedule a crawler to load data into S3.
Why it's wrong here
Glue crawlers are for metadata, not for data loading; Glue ETL jobs can be used but require more setup.
- ✗
Use Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose to stream data from Oracle to S3.
Why it's wrong here
Firehose is for streaming data, not for batch database extraction.
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.