- A
Increase the number of shards in the stream.
More shards increase total write capacity.
- B
Reduce the data retention period to free up capacity.
Why wrong: Retention period does not affect write throughput limits.
- C
Decrease the number of shards to reduce overhead.
Why wrong: Fewer shards reduce write capacity, worsening throttling.
- D
Implement a random prefix for the partition key to distribute data evenly.
Random prefixes help avoid hot shards, reducing per-shard throttling.
- E
Enable enhanced fan-out on the stream.
Why wrong: Enhanced fan-out improves read throughput, not write.
Question 1,744 of 1,786
Mitigating Amazon Kinesis Write Throttling: Increase Shards and Use Random Partition Keys
This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data operations and support. 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 monitoring an Amazon Kinesis Data Stream used to ingest clickstream data. The engineer notices that the stream's 'WriteProvisionedThroughputExceeded' metric is frequently above zero. Which TWO actions could help mitigate this issue? (Choose TWO.)
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 shards in the stream.
Options A and D are correct. Increasing the number of shards in the stream increases the write capacity, reducing the 'WriteProvisionedThroughputExceeded' metric. Implementing a random prefix for the partition key helps distribute data writes evenly across all shards, preventing hot shards. Option B is incorrect because reducing the data retention period does not affect write throughput; it only changes how long data is stored. Option C is incorrect because decreasing the number of shards would reduce write capacity, potentially worsening the issue. Option E is incorrect because enabling enhanced fan-out increases read capacity, not write 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 shards in the stream.
Why this is correct
More shards increase total write capacity.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Reduce the data retention period to free up capacity.
Why it's wrong here
Retention period does not affect write throughput limits.
- ✗
Decrease the number of shards to reduce overhead.
Why it's wrong here
Fewer shards reduce write capacity, worsening throttling.
- ✓
Implement a random prefix for the partition key to distribute data evenly.
Why this is correct
Random prefixes help avoid hot shards, reducing per-shard throttling.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Enable enhanced fan-out on the stream.
Why it's wrong here
Enhanced fan-out improves read throughput, not write.
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 cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
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 Operations and Support — This question tests Data Operations and Support — 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 shards in the stream. — Options A and D are correct. Increasing the number of shards in the stream increases the write capacity, reducing the 'WriteProvisionedThroughputExceeded' metric. Implementing a random prefix for the partition key helps distribute data writes evenly across all shards, preventing hot shards. Option B is incorrect because reducing the data retention period does not affect write throughput; it only changes how long data is stored. Option C is incorrect because decreasing the number of shards would reduce write capacity, potentially worsening the issue. Option E is incorrect because enabling enhanced fan-out increases read capacity, not write capacity.
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.
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 →
Same concept, more angles
2 more ways this is tested on DEA-C01
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A data engineer is monitoring an Amazon Kinesis Data Stream and notices that the 'WriteProvisionedThroughputExceeded' metric is frequently elevated. The stream has 5 shards and is used by multiple producers. What is the BEST action to resolve this issue?
medium- A.Increase the consumer's processing speed to reduce lag.
- ✓ B.Increase the number of shards in the Kinesis data stream.
- C.Reduce the data retention period of the stream.
- D.Implement exponential backoff and retries in the producer applications.
Why B: Option B is correct because WriteProvisionedThroughputExceeded indicates that the write rate exceeds the shards' capacity. Increasing the number of shards increases the total write capacity. Option A is incorrect because increasing the consumer's processing speed does not affect write throttling; it addresses read-side lag. Option C is incorrect because reducing the retention period does not affect write throughput. Option D is incorrect because implementing exponential backoff and retries in the producer applications helps with transient failures but does not resolve the root cause of insufficient capacity.
Variation 2. A data engineer is monitoring an Amazon Kinesis Data Stream with a shard count of 10. The stream receives 5 MB/s of write traffic and 10 MB/s of read traffic. The engineer notices that writes are throttled with ProvisionedThroughputExceededException errors. Which action should the engineer take to resolve the throttling?
easy- A.Increase the shard count to 20.
- B.Decrease the shard count to 5.
- C.Enable enhanced fan-out on the stream.
- ✓ D.Configure auto-scaling on the stream.
Why D: ProvisionedThroughputExceededException occurs when a shard's write throughput exceeds 1 MB/s, often due to hot shards from uneven partition key distribution. While increasing shard count (Option A) can help spread the load, it does not automatically fix the root cause if partition keys remain skewed. The best action is to configure auto-scaling (Option D), which in Amazon Kinesis Data Streams can be achieved by switching to on-demand mode. On-demand mode automatically scales capacity based on traffic patterns, eliminating throttling without manual intervention. Option B decreases write capacity, worsening the issue. Option C only improves read throughput, not write.
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Last reviewed: Jun 20, 2026
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