- A
Increase the provisioned read capacity units for the table.
Why wrong: Increases cost and does not optimize efficiency.
- B
Enable DynamoDB auto scaling for read capacity.
Why wrong: Auto scaling may not react quickly enough for sharp spikes, and still consumes capacity.
- C
Implement DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) to cache read-heavy workloads.
DAX reduces read load on the table by caching, lowering required read capacity.
- D
Decrease the provisioned write capacity units to free up budget for reads.
Why wrong: Write capacity is independent; decreasing write does not help read throttling.
Question 300 of 1,786
DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) — Reduce Read Latency and Throttling | AWS Data Engineer Associate Explained
This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data store management. 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 company uses Amazon DynamoDB to store session data for a web application. The application experiences throttling errors during peak traffic. The data engineer observes that the table's read capacity is consistently at 100% and the write capacity is at 20%. The engineer needs to resolve the throttling with minimal cost. Which solution should the engineer implement?
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
✓
Implement DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) to cache read-heavy workloads.
Option C is correct because the issue is read-heavy throttling with read capacity at 100% while write capacity is low. Implementing DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) provides an in-memory cache that offloads read traffic from the table, reducing read capacity consumption and eliminating throttling without increasing provisioned capacity. This is the most cost-effective solution as it avoids scaling costs and leverages caching for repeated reads.
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.
- ✗
Increase the provisioned read capacity units for the table.
Why it's wrong here
Increases cost and does not optimize efficiency.
- ✗
Enable DynamoDB auto scaling for read capacity.
Why it's wrong here
Auto scaling may not react quickly enough for sharp spikes, and still consumes capacity.
- ✓
Implement DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) to cache read-heavy workloads.
Why this is correct
DAX reduces read load on the table by caching, lowering required read capacity.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Decrease the provisioned write capacity units to free up budget for reads.
Why it's wrong here
Write capacity is independent; decreasing write does not help read throttling.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may assume scaling (auto scaling or increasing capacity) is the only solution for throttling, overlooking that caching with DAX can resolve read-heavy throttling at a lower cost by reducing the actual read load on the table.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
DAX acts as a write-through cache, meaning it caches read results and serves them with microsecond latency, reducing the number of read requests hitting the underlying DynamoDB table. Under the hood, DAX uses an in-memory engine that maintains cache coherence by invalidating entries on writes, ensuring eventual consistency. In real-world scenarios, this is ideal for session data where the same items are read frequently but updated less often, making caching highly effective for reducing read capacity consumption.
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 startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
Visual reference
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 Store Management — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
- →
Data Store Management practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
- →
All DEA-C01 questions
1,786 questions across all exam domains
- →
AWS Certified Data Engineer Associate DEA-C01 study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
- →
DEA-C01 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Related DEA-C01 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Data Ingestion and Transformation practice questions
Practise DEA-C01 questions linked to Data Ingestion and Transformation.
Data Operations and Support practice questions
Practise DEA-C01 questions linked to Data Operations and Support.
Data Security and Governance practice questions
Practise DEA-C01 questions linked to Data Security and Governance.
Data Store Management practice questions
Practise DEA-C01 questions linked to Data Store Management.
DEA-C01 fundamentals practice questions
Practise DEA-C01 questions linked to DEA-C01 fundamentals.
DEA-C01 scenario practice questions
Practise DEA-C01 questions linked to DEA-C01 scenario.
DEA-C01 troubleshooting practice questions
Practise DEA-C01 questions linked to DEA-C01 troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Start a free DEA-C01 practice session
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this DEA-C01 question test?
Data Store Management — This question tests Data Store Management — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Implement DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) to cache read-heavy workloads. — Option C is correct because the issue is read-heavy throttling with read capacity at 100% while write capacity is low. Implementing DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) provides an in-memory cache that offloads read traffic from the table, reducing read capacity consumption and eliminating throttling without increasing provisioned capacity. This is the most cost-effective solution as it avoids scaling costs and leverages caching for repeated reads.
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.
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 →
Same concept, more angles
3 more ways this is tested on DEA-C01
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 company uses Amazon DynamoDB as a session store for a web application. During peak hours, the application experiences high latency and throttling on the DynamoDB table. The table has a read capacity of 5000 RCU and write capacity of 2000 WCU. The application reads and writes session data using the session ID as the partition key. What is the most cost-effective solution to reduce throttling?
hard- A.Enable Auto Scaling on the table to automatically adjust capacity.
- B.Increase the read capacity units (RCU) and write capacity units (WCU) to 10000 each.
- C.Enable DynamoDB global tables to distribute read traffic.
- ✓ D.Implement DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) to cache frequent reads.
Why D: Option D is correct because DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) provides an in-memory cache that absorbs read-heavy traffic, reducing the load on the underlying DynamoDB table. Since the application reads session data using the session ID as the partition key, DAX can serve frequent reads with microsecond latency, eliminating throttling without requiring a capacity increase. This is the most cost-effective solution because it avoids provisioning additional RCUs for reads that are repetitive and cacheable.
Variation 2. A company is using Amazon DynamoDB for a gaming application with high read and write throughput. The data engineer notices that the read latency is high during peak hours. The table has a partition key only (no sort key). The engineer wants to improve read performance by distributing reads across partitions more evenly. Which action should the engineer take?
hard- A.Increase the read capacity units of the table.
- B.Add a sort key to the table.
- ✓ C.Enable DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX).
- D.Enable DynamoDB global tables.
Why C: Option C is correct because DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) is an in-memory cache that reduces read latency from single-digit milliseconds to microseconds by caching frequently accessed items. Since the issue is high read latency during peak hours and the table has only a partition key, DAX offloads reads from the underlying table, distributing the read load and improving response times without changing the table's key structure.
Variation 3. A company is using Amazon DynamoDB for a high-traffic web application. They notice increased read latency during peak hours. Which design change would best reduce read latency without increasing cost?
medium- A.Increase read capacity units
- B.Use DynamoDB global tables
- C.Switch to strongly consistent reads
- ✓ D.Enable DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX)
Why D: DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) is an in-memory cache that reduces read latency from single-digit milliseconds to microseconds for eventually consistent reads, without requiring any changes to provisioned capacity. Since the question specifies reducing latency without increasing cost, DAX is ideal because it offloads read traffic from the underlying table, allowing you to potentially lower read capacity units (RCUs) while maintaining performance.
Keep practising
More DEA-C01 practice questions
- A data pipeline uses Kinesis Data Firehose to deliver streaming data to an S3 bucket. The data volume spikes occasionall…
- An e-commerce company uses AWS Glue to run ETL jobs that transform clickstream data from Amazon S3. The job reads Parque…
- A data engineering team uses Amazon Kinesis Data Analytics for Apache Flink to process streaming data. They notice that…
- A company uses AWS Glue to process streaming data from Amazon Kinesis Data Streams. The job reads JSON records and write…
- A data engineer applies the above bucket policy to an S3 bucket containing sensitive data. The goal is to allow only enc…
- A company uses AWS Glue to catalog data in Amazon S3. The security team requires that all sensitive data be identified a…
Last reviewed: Jul 4, 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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.