The answer is automated snapshots to Amazon S3, cross-Region snapshot copy, and multi-node clusters. These three features work together to ensure Redshift high availability and durability by providing point-in-time recovery, protection against regional failures, and data replication across compute nodes within the cluster. On the AWS Certified Data Engineer Associate DEA-C01 exam, this question tests your understanding that Redshift achieves fault tolerance through its native snapshot and cluster architecture rather than through Multi-AZ deployments, which is a common trap—Redshift does not support Multi-AZ, relying instead on automatic failover within a single Availability Zone. Another frequent distractor is S3 Cross-Region Replication, which applies to S3 buckets, not Redshift snapshots. Remember the memory tip: “Snapshots for recovery, nodes for replication, cross-region for disaster protection—never Multi-AZ for Redshift.”
DEA-C01 Data Operations and Support Practice Question
This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data operations and support. 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 is setting up a new Amazon Redshift cluster for a data warehouse. The engineer wants to ensure data durability and high availability. Which THREE features should the engineer consider? (Choose three.)
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Cross-Region snapshot copy.
Options A, C, and E are correct. A: Automated snapshots provide point-in-time recovery. C: Cross-Region snapshot copy protects against regional failures. E: Multi-node clusters provide data replication within the cluster. Option B is wrong because Multi-AZ is not a feature of Redshift; it uses automatic failover within a single AZ. Option D is wrong because S3 Cross-Region Replication is for S3, not Redshift.
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.
✗
S3 Cross-Region Replication for Redshift data.
Why it's wrong here
Redshift does not directly use S3 CRR.
✓
Cross-Region snapshot copy.
Why this is correct
Cross-Region copies protect against region failures.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Multi-node cluster with data replication.
Why this is correct
Multi-node clusters replicate data across nodes.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Multi-AZ deployment for automatic failover.
Why it's wrong here
Redshift does not support Multi-AZ; it uses automatic failover within an AZ.
✓
Automated snapshots to Amazon S3.
Why this is correct
Snapshots enable recovery from failures.
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 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: Cross-Region snapshot copy. — Options A, C, and E are correct. A: Automated snapshots provide point-in-time recovery. C: Cross-Region snapshot copy protects against regional failures. E: Multi-node clusters provide data replication within the cluster. Option B is wrong because Multi-AZ is not a feature of Redshift; it uses automatic failover within a single AZ. Option D is wrong because S3 Cross-Region Replication is for S3, not Redshift.
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 →
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 setting up an Amazon Redshift cluster for a new data warehouse. The engineer needs to ensure that the cluster can automatically recover from failures and maintain high availability. Which TWO actions should the engineer take? (Choose TWO.)
medium
A.Configure workload management (WLM) queues to prioritize critical queries.
✓ B.Configure automated snapshots with a retention period of 1 day and enable cluster recreation from snapshots.
✓ C.Enable Multi-AZ deployment.
D.Enable concurrency scaling.
E.Configure manual snapshots with cross-region copy.
Why B: Option A (enable Multi-AZ) and Option D (automated snapshots with cluster recreation) are correct. Multi-AZ provides synchronous replication across AZs for high availability. Automated snapshots allow point-in-time recovery and cluster replacement in case of failure. Option B is wrong because concurrency scaling improves query performance, not availability. Option C is wrong because manual snapshots require manual intervention. Option E is wrong because workload management (WLM) does not affect availability.
Variation 2. A data engineer is troubleshooting an Amazon Redshift cluster that has experienced a node failure. The engineer needs to ensure that the cluster is highly available and can withstand a single node failure without downtime. Which TWO actions should the engineer take?
medium
✓ A.Enable automated snapshots with cross-region copy.
B.Enable concurrency scaling to handle increased read traffic.
C.Deploy the cluster as a single-node cluster for simplicity.
D.Place the cluster in a public subnet with an internet gateway.
✓ E.Use a multi-node cluster with RA3 node types.
Why A: Options B and D are correct. Enabling multi-node cluster with RA3 node types provides managed storage and resilience. Enabling cross-region snapshot copy ensures data can be restored in another region. Option A is incorrect because concurrency scaling does not provide high availability. Option C is incorrect because single-node clusters are not highly available. Option E is incorrect because VPC routing does not affect node failure.
Last reviewed: Jun 20, 2026
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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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