- A
AWS Batch job submitted by S3 event
Why wrong: AWS Batch has higher startup latency compared to Lambda.
- B
Amazon EMR cluster running continuously
Why wrong: Running a persistent cluster is costly and inefficient for sporadic file arrivals.
- C
AWS Lambda function triggered by S3 event
Lambda can be triggered immediately on S3 PUT events and perform the transformation.
- D
AWS Glue ETL job scheduled every 5 minutes
Why wrong: Scheduled jobs introduce latency; Lambda provides near real-time trigger.
Question 504 of 1,786
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 data engineering team needs to transform CSV files to Parquet format after they land in an S3 bucket. The transformation should be triggered automatically as soon as a new file arrives. Which AWS service is best suited for this task?
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
✓
AWS Lambda function triggered by S3 event
AWS Lambda functions can be directly triggered by S3 events (e.g., `s3:ObjectCreated:*`) to process newly uploaded CSV files. This serverless approach provides near-instantaneous, event-driven transformation to Parquet without managing any infrastructure, making it the most cost-effective and simplest solution for this specific use case.
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.
- ✗
AWS Batch job submitted by S3 event
Why it's wrong here
AWS Batch has higher startup latency compared to Lambda.
- ✗
Amazon EMR cluster running continuously
Why it's wrong here
Running a persistent cluster is costly and inefficient for sporadic file arrivals.
- ✓
AWS Lambda function triggered by S3 event
Why this is correct
Lambda can be triggered immediately on S3 PUT events and perform the transformation.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
AWS Glue ETL job scheduled every 5 minutes
Why it's wrong here
Scheduled jobs introduce latency; Lambda provides near real-time trigger.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often choose AWS Glue (Option D) because it is a dedicated ETL service, but they overlook the requirement for immediate, event-driven processing, which Glue's scheduled jobs cannot provide without additional event-bridge triggers.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, S3 event notifications are delivered via SNS or SQS, but for Lambda, the event payload includes the bucket name and object key, allowing the function to read the CSV directly from S3 using the AWS SDK. The transformation to Parquet can be done in-memory using libraries like `pandas` with `pyarrow` or `fastparquet`, and the output is written back to S3. A real-world consideration is Lambda's execution time limit (15 minutes) and memory (10 GB max), which may constrain very large files; for files exceeding these limits, a step function orchestrating multiple Lambda invocations or AWS Glue would be more appropriate.
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
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: AWS Lambda function triggered by S3 event — AWS Lambda functions can be directly triggered by S3 events (e.g., `s3:ObjectCreated:*`) to process newly uploaded CSV files. This serverless approach provides near-instantaneous, event-driven transformation to Parquet without managing any infrastructure, making it the most cost-effective and simplest solution for this specific use case.
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
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.
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