The answer is AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) with change data capture (CDC) to Amazon S3. This is the correct choice because DMS handles both the initial 500 GB full load and the daily 10 GB incremental updates through CDC, which continuously captures and applies changes from the Oracle redo logs directly to S3 without requiring custom code or complex pipeline management. On the AWS Certified Data Engineer Associate DEA-C01 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of managed replication services versus building custom ETL with tools like AWS Glue or Spark—a common trap is choosing Glue for its transformation capabilities, but DMS is purpose-built for minimal-overhead database migrations and ongoing syncs. Remember that DMS with CDC is the go-to when the requirement is “ingest on-premises Oracle database to S3” with both initial and incremental loads, as it eliminates the need for manual snapshot management or scripting. Memory tip: think “DMS does the heavy lifting, CDC keeps it current”—if the question emphasizes low operational overhead and continuous replication, DMS is your answer.
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 engineer needs to ingest data from an on-premises Oracle database into Amazon S3. The data volume is about 500 GB initially, with daily incremental updates of 10 GB. The pipeline must minimize operational overhead. Which AWS service should be used for the initial and incremental loads?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "minimum / minimize"
Why it matters: Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) with change data capture (CDC) to Amazon S3.
AWS DMS with CDC is the correct choice because it supports continuous replication from Oracle to Amazon S3 with minimal overhead. It handles both the initial 500 GB full load and ongoing 10 GB daily increments via change data capture, without requiring custom code or complex pipeline management.
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.
✓
AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) with change data capture (CDC) to Amazon S3.
Why this is correct
DMS supports full load and CDC with low overhead.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
AWS Glue with a JDBC connection and incremental crawl.
Why it's wrong here
Glue is not optimized for CDC; requires custom logic.
✗
Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose with a custom producer.
Why it's wrong here
Firehose is for streaming, not database replication.
✗
AWS Data Pipeline with a SQL activity and HiveCopyActivity.
Why it's wrong here
Data Pipeline is legacy and more overhead.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often choose AWS Glue for its serverless nature, but Glue's incremental crawl only updates the Data Catalog, not the data itself, and it cannot capture row-level changes from a database without full reloads.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
AWS DMS uses Oracle LogMiner or binary reader to capture changes from Oracle redo logs for CDC, enabling near-real-time replication without impacting source performance. The initial load is performed as a full table scan, then CDC tasks apply ongoing changes to S3 in Apache Parquet or CSV format. In real-world scenarios, DMS can handle heterogeneous migrations and automatically resume from checkpoints if interrupted, making it ideal for minimizing operational overhead.
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.
TExam Day Tips
→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 exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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: AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) with change data capture (CDC) to Amazon S3. — AWS DMS with CDC is the correct choice because it supports continuous replication from Oracle to Amazon S3 with minimal overhead. It handles both the initial 500 GB full load and ongoing 10 GB daily increments via change data capture, without requiring custom code or complex pipeline management.
What should I do if I get this DEA-C01 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "minimum / minimize". Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A data engineer needs to ingest data from an on-premises Oracle database into Amazon S3 on a nightly basis. The data volume is approximately 10 GB per night. The database is accessible over the internet. Which AWS service is MOST appropriate for this task?
easy
A.AWS Glue ETL job with a JDBC connection
B.AWS DataSync
C.AWS Transfer Family
D.Amazon Kinesis Data Streams
Why : AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) is designed for migrating databases to AWS and can continuously replicate changes. For nightly batch loads, DMS with a full load or CDC is ideal. Option A (AWS DataSync) is for file transfers, not databases. Option B (AWS Glue) can connect to JDBC sources but is more suitable for ETL; DMS is simpler for database migration. Option C (Amazon Kinesis) is for real-time streaming. Option D (AWS Transfer Family) is for file transfers over SFTP/FTPS.
Variation 2. A data engineer needs to ingest data from an on-premises Oracle database into Amazon S3 on a daily basis. The data volume is approximately 500 GB per day. The source database is behind a firewall that does not allow direct internet access. Which service should the engineer use to transfer the data securely?
medium
✓ A.AWS DataSync with a network path through AWS Direct Connect or VPN.
B.AWS Database Migration Service (AWS DMS) with ongoing replication from Oracle to S3.
C.Amazon S3 Transfer Acceleration with a public endpoint.
D.AWS Snowball Edge device for daily transfers.
Why A: Option B is correct because AWS DataSync can transfer data from on-premises to S3, and it supports private network connectivity via AWS Direct Connect or VPN. Option A is wrong because AWS DMS is for ongoing replication, not bulk daily transfers. Option C is wrong because S3 Transfer Acceleration requires internet. Option D is wrong because Snowball Edge is for offline transfer, not daily.
Variation 3. A data engineer needs to ingest data from an on-premises Oracle database to Amazon S3 daily. The data volume is 500 GB per day, and the network bandwidth is 200 Mbps. The requirement is to minimize the impact on the source database and ensure data integrity. Which combination of AWS services should be used?
medium
✓ A.AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) with S3 as target
B.AWS Glue ETL jobs with JDBC connection
C.Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose with Oracle as source
D.AWS Data Pipeline with SQLActivity
Why A: Option C is correct because AWS DMS can perform ongoing replication with minimal impact, and S3 as a target is supported. Option A (AWS Glue) is a batch ETL tool but may put load on the source. Option B (AWS Data Pipeline) is older and less efficient. Option D (Amazon Kinesis) is for streaming, not batch database loads.
Variation 4. A data engineer needs to ingest data from an on-premises Oracle database into Amazon S3 using AWS DMS. The change data capture (CDC) must be enabled to capture ongoing changes. Which additional AWS service is required to store the transaction logs for CDC?
hard
A.Amazon RDS
✓ B.Amazon S3
C.Amazon EBS
D.Amazon CloudWatch Logs
Why B: Option A is correct because AWS DMS CDC requires Oracle transaction logs to be stored in S3 or a custom S3 bucket for replication. Option B (CloudWatch Logs) is for monitoring, not storage. Option C (Amazon RDS) is a database, not storage. Option D (Amazon EBS) is block storage attached to EC2, not suitable for DMS CDC.
Variation 5. A data engineer needs to ingest data from an on-premises Oracle database into Amazon S3 for analytics. The data changes frequently and the engineer wants to capture both initial load and incremental changes with minimal latency. Which TWO AWS services should be used together? (Choose TWO.)
easy
✓ A.AWS Database Migration Service (DMS)
B.AWS Lambda
C.AWS Glue
D.AWS Transfer Family
✓ E.Amazon Kinesis Data Streams
Why A: Option B and Option D are correct. AWS DMS can continuously replicate changes from Oracle to S3, and Amazon Kinesis Data Streams can provide low-latency streaming for near-real-time data. Option A is for batch file transfer, not real-time. Option C is for ETL, not replication. Option E is for event-driven processing but not direct database replication.
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Question Discussion
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