DEA-C01 Data Ingestion and Transformation Practice Question
A gaming company collects player event data from mobile devices. The data is sent to an Amazon API Gateway endpoint, which triggers an AWS Lambda function that writes the data to an Amazon DynamoDB table. The company wants to also store the data in Amazon S3 for historical analysis. The data volume is about 100 GB per day. The data engineer needs to design a solution to copy data from DynamoDB to S3 with minimal impact on the DynamoDB table. What should the data engineer do?
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
✓
Enable DynamoDB Streams on the table and configure a Lambda function to write changes to S3.
Using DynamoDB Streams with a Lambda function that writes to S3 enables real-time replication with minimal impact on the DynamoDB table. Option B is wrong because creating a global secondary index does not export data to S3; it is used to improve query performance. Option C is wrong because using AWS Glue to scan the DynamoDB table would consume read capacity units, potentially impacting performance. Option D is wrong because the DynamoDB Export to S3 feature is a one-time or scheduled export, not continuous, and may not be suitable for near-real-time needs.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Enable DynamoDB Streams on the table and configure a Lambda function to write changes to S3.
Why this is correct
Using DynamoDB Streams with a Lambda function that writes to S3 enables real-time replication with minimal impact on the DynamoDB table.
- ✗
Create a global secondary index on the table and export the index to S3.
Why it's wrong here
Creating a global secondary index does not export data to S3; it is used to improve query performance.
- ✗
Use AWS Glue to scan the DynamoDB table and write results to S3 every hour.
Why it's wrong here
Using AWS Glue to scan the DynamoDB table would consume read capacity units, potentially impacting the performance of the table.
- ✗
Use the DynamoDB Export to S3 feature to export the entire table daily.
Why it's wrong here
Using the DynamoDB Export to S3 feature is a one-time or scheduled export, but it is not continuous and may not be suitable for near-real-time needs.
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.