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Data Ingestion and Transformation →easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

DEA-C01 Data Ingestion and Transformation Practice Question

This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data ingestion and transformation. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 is setting up a data pipeline to ingest data from an Amazon RDS for MySQL database into Amazon S3 using AWS Glue ETL. The Glue job uses a JDBC connection to read from the MySQL database. The job runs successfully, but the engineer notices that the job is taking longer than expected. The MySQL database is 500 GB in size and the Glue job uses 10 workers of type G.1X. The engineer wants to improve the performance of the extraction phase. The database is actively used by other applications, so the engineer must minimize the impact on the source database. Which approach should the engineer take?

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.

A
Partition the table by a numeric column, such as the primary key, and use the 'hashex' or 'hashpar' partitioning option in the Glue JDBC connection.
Partitioning the table by a numeric column (e.g., primary key) and using the 'hashex' or 'hashpar' partitioning option in the Glue JDBC connection enables parallel reads across multiple workers, reducing the load on the MySQL database and improving extraction performance.
B
Use an incremental extraction strategy with a watermark column to reduce the amount of data read each time.
Why wrong: Using an incremental extraction strategy with a watermark column is effective for ongoing changes but not for the initial bulk extraction; it does not directly improve parallelism during the full load.
C
Create a read replica of the MySQL database and configure the Glue job to read from the replica.
Why wrong: Creating a read replica shifts read traffic away from the primary database but does not inherently improve the parallelism of the Glue job; partitioning is still required for efficient parallel extraction.
D
Increase the number of Glue workers to 20 to increase parallelism.
Why wrong: Increasing the number of Glue workers to 20 adds parallelism but without partitioning, the database may be overwhelmed by multiple connections reading the same full table, potentially causing performance issues.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

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

✓

Partition the table by a numeric column, such as the primary key, and use the 'hashex' or 'hashpar' partitioning option in the Glue JDBC connection.

Option A is correct because partitioning the table on a key column (e.g., primary key) allows Glue to read in parallel from multiple partitions, reducing the load on the database and improving performance. Option B is wrong because incremental extraction is for ongoing changes, not for an initial full load; it doesn't address the immediate performance issue of extracting 500 GB. Option C is wrong because using a read replica offloads read traffic but does not inherently improve parallelism; partitioning is still needed for performance. Option D is wrong because simply increasing the number of workers may overwhelm the database with more simultaneous connections without partitioning, potentially causing performance degradation.

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.

✓
Partition the table by a numeric column, such as the primary key, and use the 'hashex' or 'hashpar' partitioning option in the Glue JDBC connection.
Why this is correct
Partitioning the table by a numeric column (e.g., primary key) and using the 'hashex' or 'hashpar' partitioning option in the Glue JDBC connection enables parallel reads across multiple workers, reducing the load on the MySQL database and improving extraction performance.
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.
✗
Use an incremental extraction strategy with a watermark column to reduce the amount of data read each time.
Why it's wrong here
Using an incremental extraction strategy with a watermark column is effective for ongoing changes but not for the initial bulk extraction; it does not directly improve parallelism during the full load.
✗
Create a read replica of the MySQL database and configure the Glue job to read from the replica.
Why it's wrong here
Creating a read replica shifts read traffic away from the primary database but does not inherently improve the parallelism of the Glue job; partitioning is still required for efficient parallel extraction.
✗
Increase the number of Glue workers to 20 to increase parallelism.
Why it's wrong here
Increasing the number of Glue workers to 20 adds parallelism but without partitioning, the database may be overwhelmed by multiple connections reading the same full table, potentially causing performance issues.

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.

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

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.

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this DEA-C01 question test?

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: Partition the table by a numeric column, such as the primary key, and use the 'hashex' or 'hashpar' partitioning option in the Glue JDBC connection. — Option A is correct because partitioning the table on a key column (e.g., primary key) allows Glue to read in parallel from multiple partitions, reducing the load on the database and improving performance. Option B is wrong because incremental extraction is for ongoing changes, not for an initial full load; it doesn't address the immediate performance issue of extracting 500 GB. Option C is wrong because using a read replica offloads read traffic but does not inherently improve parallelism; partitioning is still needed for performance. Option D is wrong because simply increasing the number of workers may overwhelm the database with more simultaneous connections without partitioning, potentially causing performance degradation.

What should I do if I get this DEA-C01 question wrong?

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.

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