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Data Store Management →hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question

This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data store management. 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 financial services company has an Amazon DynamoDB table named 'Transactions' with provisioned read capacity of 10,000 RCU and write capacity of 5,000 WCU. The table stores transaction records for the past 90 days. The application performs point reads by transaction ID (partition key) and range queries by customer ID and timestamp (GSI). Recently, the company started a new marketing campaign, causing a sudden spike in write traffic. The write capacity is now at 4,500 WCU, and the application is experiencing occasional throttling on writes. The data engineer needs to ensure that writes are not throttled during future campaigns, while keeping costs low. The table currently has auto scaling enabled with a maximum capacity of 10,000 WCU. Which solution should the engineer implement?

A
Switch the table to DynamoDB on-demand capacity mode.
Option A is correct. DynamoDB on-demand capacity mode automatically scales to accommodate traffic spikes, eliminating throttling without manual intervention and without fixed capacity limits, making it cost-effective for unpredictable traffic.
B
Use DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) to cache write requests.
Why wrong: Option B is incorrect. DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) is an in-memory cache for read operations only. It does not handle write requests, so it would not help with write throttling.
C
Implement an Amazon SQS queue to buffer write requests and process them in batches.
Why wrong: Option C is incorrect. While an SQS queue can buffer write requests, it introduces additional latency and architectural complexity. It is not the simplest solution and may not be suitable for real-time write requirements.
D
Increase the maximum write capacity in the auto scaling configuration to 20,000 WCU.
Why wrong: Option D is incorrect. Simply increasing the maximum auto scaling capacity to 20,000 WCU would increase costs unnecessarily and still may not react quickly enough to sudden spikes in traffic. On-demand capacity mode is a better solution for unpredictable workloads.

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

✓

Switch the table to DynamoDB on-demand capacity mode.

Option A is correct. DynamoDB on-demand capacity mode automatically scales to accommodate traffic spikes, eliminating throttling without manual intervention and without fixed capacity limits, making it cost-effective for unpredictable traffic. Option B is wrong because DAX is a read cache and does not handle write throttling. Option C is wrong because using SQS adds latency and complexity; not ideal for real-time writes. Option D is wrong because increasing the maximum write capacity still has a limit and may not react quickly enough to sudden spikes, and may increase costs.

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.

✓
Switch the table to DynamoDB on-demand capacity mode.
Why this is correct
Option A is correct. DynamoDB on-demand capacity mode automatically scales to accommodate traffic spikes, eliminating throttling without manual intervention and without fixed capacity limits, making it cost-effective for unpredictable traffic.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) to cache write requests.
Why it's wrong here
Option B is incorrect. DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) is an in-memory cache for read operations only. It does not handle write requests, so it would not help with write throttling.
✗
Implement an Amazon SQS queue to buffer write requests and process them in batches.
Why it's wrong here
Option C is incorrect. While an SQS queue can buffer write requests, it introduces additional latency and architectural complexity. It is not the simplest solution and may not be suitable for real-time write requirements.
✗
Increase the maximum write capacity in the auto scaling configuration to 20,000 WCU.
Why it's wrong here
Option D is incorrect. Simply increasing the maximum auto scaling capacity to 20,000 WCU would increase costs unnecessarily and still may not react quickly enough to sudden spikes in traffic. On-demand capacity mode is a better solution for unpredictable workloads.

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 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.

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 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: Switch the table to DynamoDB on-demand capacity mode. — Option A is correct. DynamoDB on-demand capacity mode automatically scales to accommodate traffic spikes, eliminating throttling without manual intervention and without fixed capacity limits, making it cost-effective for unpredictable traffic. Option B is wrong because DAX is a read cache and does not handle write throttling. Option C is wrong because using SQS adds latency and complexity; not ideal for real-time writes. Option D is wrong because increasing the maximum write capacity still has a limit and may not react quickly enough to sudden spikes, and may increase costs.

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

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

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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.