- A
Increase the number of nodes in the cluster.
Adding nodes increases total storage capacity.
- B
Mount an Amazon S3 bucket as a file system to store data.
Why wrong: S3 cannot be mounted as a file system for Redshift; it can be used for external tables via Redshift Spectrum.
- C
Change the volume type to Provisioned IOPS SSD (io1) to increase capacity.
Why wrong: Redshift uses its own storage; changing volume type is not applicable.
- D
Enable automatic compression on the tables.
Why wrong: Compression reduces storage usage but does not add capacity.
Question 1,619 of 1,786
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 data engineer notices that an Amazon Redshift cluster is running low on disk space. The cluster has three nodes of type dc2.large. Which action will increase the available storage capacity?
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
✓
Increase the number of nodes in the cluster.
Amazon Redshift stores data on the local instance store volumes attached to each node in the cluster. With a dc2.large cluster, each node provides approximately 160 GB of SSD storage. Adding nodes increases the total available storage linearly because each new node contributes its local storage to the cluster. Therefore, increasing the number of nodes is the correct way to expand disk capacity.
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 number of nodes in the cluster.
Why this is correct
Adding nodes increases total storage capacity.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Mount an Amazon S3 bucket as a file system to store data.
Why it's wrong here
S3 cannot be mounted as a file system for Redshift; it can be used for external tables via Redshift Spectrum.
- ✗
Change the volume type to Provisioned IOPS SSD (io1) to increase capacity.
Why it's wrong here
Redshift uses its own storage; changing volume type is not applicable.
- ✗
Enable automatic compression on the tables.
Why it's wrong here
Compression reduces storage usage but does not add capacity.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may confuse Redshift's local storage model with EBS-backed storage, leading them to think they can change volume types or mount external storage like S3, when in fact Redshift relies solely on the aggregate of each node's local instance store for persistent data.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Redshift clusters are composed of leader and compute nodes, each with locally attached SSD storage (instance store). For dc2.large, each node provides ~160 GB of usable storage, and the cluster's total capacity is the sum of all node storage. When you add nodes, Redshift automatically redistributes data slices across the new nodes, increasing both storage and compute capacity. Note that resizing operations (e.g., elastic resize or classic resize) may have downtime or data rebalancing implications depending on the method used.
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 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 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: Increase the number of nodes in the cluster. — Amazon Redshift stores data on the local instance store volumes attached to each node in the cluster. With a dc2.large cluster, each node provides approximately 160 GB of SSD storage. Adding nodes increases the total available storage linearly because each new node contributes its local storage to the cluster. Therefore, increasing the number of nodes is the correct way to expand disk capacity.
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 →
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.