- A
Increase the Lambda function timeout and ensure that failed records are sent to a backup S3 bucket
Increasing timeout reduces failures, and configuring a backup bucket prevents data loss.
- B
Enable Amazon CloudWatch Logs for the Lambda function to capture errors and store failed records in CloudWatch
Why wrong: CloudWatch Logs captures logs but is not designed for storing failed records.
- C
Configure the Lambda function to write failed records to an Amazon SQS queue for later reprocessing
Why wrong: Lambda transformation in Firehose cannot directly write to SQS; Firehose manages failure handling.
- D
Modify the Lambda function to store failed records in Amazon S3 before processing
Why wrong: Lambda does not store data; Firehose manages the flow.
Question 1,031 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 company uses Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose to deliver data to Amazon S3. The data is transformed using an AWS Lambda function. Recently, the transformation errors have increased due to Lambda timeouts. The data engineer needs to diagnose and resolve the issue without losing data. What should the engineer do?
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 Lambda function timeout and ensure that failed records are sent to a backup S3 bucket
Option A is correct because increasing the Lambda function timeout directly addresses the root cause of transformation errors (timeouts), and configuring a backup S3 bucket for failed records ensures no data loss. Kinesis Data Firehose can be configured to send failed records to a separate S3 bucket as a dead-letter queue, which preserves the data for later reprocessing while the primary transformation pipeline is fixed.
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 Lambda function timeout and ensure that failed records are sent to a backup S3 bucket
Why this is correct
Increasing timeout reduces failures, and configuring a backup bucket prevents data loss.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Enable Amazon CloudWatch Logs for the Lambda function to capture errors and store failed records in CloudWatch
Why it's wrong here
CloudWatch Logs captures logs but is not designed for storing failed records.
- ✗
Configure the Lambda function to write failed records to an Amazon SQS queue for later reprocessing
Why it's wrong here
Lambda transformation in Firehose cannot directly write to SQS; Firehose manages failure handling.
- ✗
Modify the Lambda function to store failed records in Amazon S3 before processing
Why it's wrong here
Lambda does not store data; Firehose manages the flow.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may confuse logging (CloudWatch Logs) with actual data preservation, or assume that SQS is a native Firehose failure destination, when in fact Firehose only supports S3 or Redshift as backup destinations for failed records.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Kinesis Data Firehose invokes the Lambda function synchronously for each batch of records. If the Lambda function exceeds its configured timeout (default 60 seconds, max 900 seconds), Firehose retries the batch up to the configured retry count (default 3) and then marks those records as failed. The failed records can be sent to a backup S3 bucket by enabling the 'Failed data only' destination in the Firehose delivery stream configuration, which acts as a dead-letter queue (DLQ) for the stream.
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.
Visual reference
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
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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Data Ingestion and Transformation — study guide chapter
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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: Increase the Lambda function timeout and ensure that failed records are sent to a backup S3 bucket — Option A is correct because increasing the Lambda function timeout directly addresses the root cause of transformation errors (timeouts), and configuring a backup S3 bucket for failed records ensures no data loss. Kinesis Data Firehose can be configured to send failed records to a separate S3 bucket as a dead-letter queue, which preserves the data for later reprocessing while the primary transformation pipeline is fixed.
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.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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