- A
Replace Lambda with the Kinesis Client Library (KCL) running on EC2.
Why wrong: KCL still needs to handle DynamoDB throttling.
- B
Increase the Lambda function's reserved concurrency to process more records in parallel.
Why wrong: More concurrency increases DynamoDB load, making throttling worse.
- C
Use DynamoDB Streams to capture the records and process them asynchronously.
Why wrong: DynamoDB Streams is for changes, not for ingestion errors.
- D
Configure a Lambda destination on failure to send records to an SQS dead-letter queue, and implement retry logic in Lambda.
This handles transient failures without data loss.
Question 1,328 of 1,786
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 building a real-time data pipeline using Amazon Kinesis Data Streams with a Lambda consumer. The data volume is 2 MB/s with average record size of 5 KB. The Lambda function processes records and writes to DynamoDB. Occasionally, the Lambda function fails with 'ProvisionedThroughputExceededException' on DynamoDB. What is the best way to handle this?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"best"Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
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
✓
Configure a Lambda destination on failure to send records to an SQS dead-letter queue, and implement retry logic in Lambda.
Option D is correct because configuring a Lambda destination on failure to send unprocessed records to an SQS dead-letter queue, combined with retry logic in the Lambda function, provides a robust mechanism to handle DynamoDB throttling exceptions. This approach decouples the retry handling from the Kinesis stream, preventing the Lambda function from blocking the shard iterator and allowing the pipeline to continue processing other records while failed records are retried or investigated.
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.
- ✗
Replace Lambda with the Kinesis Client Library (KCL) running on EC2.
Why it's wrong here
KCL still needs to handle DynamoDB throttling.
- ✗
Increase the Lambda function's reserved concurrency to process more records in parallel.
Why it's wrong here
More concurrency increases DynamoDB load, making throttling worse.
- ✗
Use DynamoDB Streams to capture the records and process them asynchronously.
Why it's wrong here
DynamoDB Streams is for changes, not for ingestion errors.
- ✓
Configure a Lambda destination on failure to send records to an SQS dead-letter queue, and implement retry logic in Lambda.
Why this is correct
This handles transient failures without data loss.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume increasing concurrency or switching to KCL will solve throughput issues, but the real problem is handling DynamoDB throttling gracefully without blocking the Kinesis stream, which requires a decoupled retry mechanism like a dead-letter queue.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Kinesis Data Streams uses shard-level sequencing, and a Lambda consumer that fails to process a record will retry that shard's batch until success or the retention period expires, potentially stalling the shard. Using an SQS dead-letter queue with Lambda destinations allows you to offload failed records after a configurable number of retries, while the Lambda function can implement exponential backoff and jitter for DynamoDB writes to reduce throttling. In real-world scenarios, this pattern is critical for high-throughput pipelines where DynamoDB's provisioned throughput can be temporarily exceeded due to hot keys or burst patterns.
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.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
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.
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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: Configure a Lambda destination on failure to send records to an SQS dead-letter queue, and implement retry logic in Lambda. — Option D is correct because configuring a Lambda destination on failure to send unprocessed records to an SQS dead-letter queue, combined with retry logic in the Lambda function, provides a robust mechanism to handle DynamoDB throttling exceptions. This approach decouples the retry handling from the Kinesis stream, preventing the Lambda function from blocking the shard iterator and allowing the pipeline to continue processing other records while failed records are retried or investigated.
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: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
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 →
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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