DEA-C01 Data Ingestion and Transformation Practice Question
A data streaming application uses Kinesis Data Streams with 10 shards. The data producer is throttled frequently. Which action should be taken to resolve this issue?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse consumer-side features (like enhanced fan-out or retention period) with producer-side capacity issues, leading them to pick options that do not address the root cause of write throttling.
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
✓
Increase the number of shards
Throttling in Kinesis Data Streams occurs when the write throughput exceeds the shard limits. Each shard supports up to 1 MB/s or 1,000 records/s for writes. With 10 shards, the total write capacity is 10 MB/s or 10,000 records/s. Increasing the number of shards (Option D) directly increases the write capacity, resolving the throttling issue by distributing the load across more shards.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Decrease the data retention period
Why it's wrong here
Retention governs how long records remain readable, not the ingest rate, so shortening it leaves the per-shard write limit unchanged and throttling persists. It is tempting because it is a stream-level setting, and would be correct when reducing storage cost or ageing data, not for producer throughput.
- ✗
Use enhanced fan-out for consumers
Why it's wrong here
Enhanced fan-out gives each consumer its own 2 MiB/s read channel; it does not raise the 1 MiB/s or 1000 records/s per-shard write limit that throttles the producer. It is tempting because it addresses throughput, and would be correct when multiple consumers suffer read contention.
- ✗
Enable server-side encryption
Why it's wrong here
Server-side encryption protects data at rest and has no bearing on write throughput or the per-shard limits causing producer throttling. It is tempting because encryption is a common hardening step, and would be correct when compliance requires Kinesis records encrypted, not when resolving WriteProvisionedThroughputExceeded errors.
- ✓
Increase the number of shards
Why this is correct
Each Kinesis shard supports a fixed ingest ceiling of 1 MB/s or 1,000 records/s, so ten shards cap throughput and cause throttling once exceeded. Adding shards raises that aggregate write capacity, directly resolving the producer throttling described in the stem.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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