Quick Answer
The answer is Amazon S3, AWS Glue (with Crawlers), and Amazon Athena. S3 serves as the scalable and durable storage foundation for any data lake, handling both structured and unstructured data, while AWS Glue Crawlers automatically scan that data, infer schemas, and populate the Glue Data Catalog to enable easy discovery and querying. Athena then uses that catalog to run serverless SQL queries directly against the data in S3 without needing to move or transform it first. On the AWS Certified Data Engineer Associate DEA-C01 exam, this trio tests your understanding of the core data lake pattern: storage, cataloging, and querying. A common trap is choosing Amazon Redshift or RDS, but remember that a data lake relies on schema-on-read and object storage, not a traditional data warehouse or relational database. Memory tip: think “Store, Catalog, Query” — S3, Glue, Athena.
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 company is designing a data lake on Amazon S3. The data ingestion pipeline must handle both structured and unstructured data. The data must be cataloged for easy discovery. Which THREE services should be included in the solution? (Choose THREE.)
Amazon S3
S3 is the core storage for data lakes.
AWS Glue Data Catalog
Glue catalog provides metadata for discovery.
Amazon Athena
Athena can query data directly from S3 using the catalog.
Amazon RDS
Why wrong: RDS is not suitable for a data lake; it's for transactional data.
Amazon Redshift
Why wrong: Redshift is a data warehouse, not a data lake.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Amazon S3
Option A is correct because S3 is the storage layer. Option B is correct because Glue Crawlers can catalog data. Option C is correct because Athena can query the cataloged data. Option D (RDS) is a relational database, not for a data lake. Option E (Redshift) is a data warehouse, not a data lake.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Amazon S3
Why this is correct
S3 is the core storage for data lakes.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
AWS Glue Data Catalog
Why this is correct
Glue catalog provides metadata for discovery.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Amazon Athena
Why this is correct
Athena can query data directly from S3 using the catalog.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Amazon RDS
Why it's wrong here
RDS is not suitable for a data lake; it's for transactional data.
Amazon Redshift
Why it's wrong here
Redshift is a data warehouse, not a data lake.
Common exam traps
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
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.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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
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.
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FAQ
Data Ingestion and Transformation — This question tests Data Ingestion and Transformation — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Amazon S3 — Option A is correct because S3 is the storage layer. Option B is correct because Glue Crawlers can catalog data. Option C is correct because Athena can query the cataloged data. Option D (RDS) is a relational database, not for a data lake. Option E (Redshift) is a data warehouse, not a data lake.
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.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 20, 2026
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.
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