The correct answers are increasing the number of DPUs for the Glue job and using pushdown predicates from RDS. Increasing DPUs accelerates processing by distributing the workload across more parallel executors, directly addressing the bottleneck of a single, under-resourced job. Pushdown predicates improve performance by applying SQL WHERE clause filters at the source database, so only the incremental rows matching the condition are transferred to Glue, drastically reducing data volume. On the AWS Certified Data Engineer Associate DEA-C01 exam, this question tests your understanding of Glue’s resource allocation and source-side filtering—a common trap is thinking that adding transformations or writing uncompressed data helps, when both actually increase I/O and processing time. Remember the memory tip: “Push predicates down, DPUs up” to instantly recall that performance gains come from filtering early and scaling compute horizontally.
DEA-C01 Data Ingestion and Transformation Practice Question
This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data ingestion and transformation. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 uses AWS Glue to extract, transform, and load (ETL) data from Amazon RDS for MySQL to Amazon S3. The job runs daily and processes incremental data. The team notices that the job is taking longer than expected. Which TWO actions can improve the job performance? (Choose two.)
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use pushdown predicates to filter data at the source.
B is correct because increasing the number of DPUs (Data Processing Units) allocates more resources to the Glue job, speeding it up. D is correct because using pushdown predicates filters data at the source, reducing the amount of data transferred. A is wrong because writing to S3 with no compression increases I/O. C is wrong because using a single node (Standard) reduces parallelism. E is wrong because adding more transformations increases processing time.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Change the worker type to Standard (single node).
Why it's wrong here
Standard is the default; G.1X or G.2X offer more memory and vCPUs.
✓
Use pushdown predicates to filter data at the source.
Why this is correct
Reduces the data scanned and transferred from RDS.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Add more transformations to the ETL script to clean data.
Why it's wrong here
More transformations increase processing time.
✓
Increase the number of DPUs for the Glue job.
Why this is correct
More DPUs increase parallelism and processing speed.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Disable compression on the output data to reduce CPU usage.
Why it's wrong here
Compression reduces I/O and storage; disabling it may increase write time.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which DEA-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Data Ingestion and Transformation — This question tests Data Ingestion and Transformation — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use pushdown predicates to filter data at the source. — B is correct because increasing the number of DPUs (Data Processing Units) allocates more resources to the Glue job, speeding it up. D is correct because using pushdown predicates filters data at the source, reducing the amount of data transferred. A is wrong because writing to S3 with no compression increases I/O. C is wrong because using a single node (Standard) reduces parallelism. E is wrong because adding more transformations increases processing time.
What should I do if I get this DEA-C01 question wrong?
Identify which DEA-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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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.
Question Discussion
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