The answer is to use a read replica, apply a JDBC WHERE clause for incremental extraction, and schedule jobs during off-peak hours. These three actions directly minimize the impact on the RDS source by offloading read traffic, reducing the volume of data scanned, and avoiding contention during business-critical periods. On the AWS Certified Data Engineer Associate DEA-C01 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how Glue interacts with relational databases, specifically that increasing parallelism (via DPUs) or disabling job bookmarks actually increases load rather than reducing it. A common trap is assuming more compute power eases database strain, but the real lever is controlling what and when you read. To remember the three correct actions, think of the mnemonic “RIP”: Read replica, Incremental WHERE clause, and Peak-hour avoidance.
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 company uses AWS Glue to run ETL jobs daily. The jobs consume data from an Amazon RDS for MySQL database and write results to Amazon S3. The company wants to minimize the impact on the source database during extraction. Which THREE actions should the data engineer take to achieve this? (Choose THREE.)
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
✓
Schedule the Glue job to run during off-peak hours.
Options A, C, and D are correct. Option A: Using a read replica avoids load on the primary database. Option C: Using JDBC connection with a WHERE clause to extract only new/changed data reduces the amount of data read. Option D: Scheduling Glue jobs during off-peak hours minimizes impact. Option B is wrong because increasing DPUs does not reduce database load; it may increase parallelism and actually increase load. Option E is wrong because reducing job bookmarks would cause full scans, increasing load.
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.
✓
Schedule the Glue job to run during off-peak hours.
Why this is correct
Runs when database load is naturally low.
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.
✓
Configure the Glue job to connect to a read replica of the RDS instance.
Why this is correct
Offloads read queries to a replica, reducing load on the primary.
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.
✗
Increase the number of Glue DPUs to process data faster.
Why it's wrong here
More DPUs may increase parallel connections, potentially increasing database load.
✗
Disable Glue job bookmarks to force full refresh.
Why it's wrong here
Full refresh increases data extraction and load.
✓
Use a JDBC connection with a WHERE clause to extract only incremental data.
Why this is correct
Reduces the amount of data extracted, thus reducing load.
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.
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.
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.
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: Schedule the Glue job to run during off-peak hours. — Options A, C, and D are correct. Option A: Using a read replica avoids load on the primary database. Option C: Using JDBC connection with a WHERE clause to extract only new/changed data reduces the amount of data read. Option D: Scheduling Glue jobs during off-peak hours minimizes impact. Option B is wrong because increasing DPUs does not reduce database load; it may increase parallelism and actually increase load. Option E is wrong because reducing job bookmarks would cause full scans, increasing load.
What should I do if I get this DEA-C01 question wrong?
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.
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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Question Discussion
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