DEA-C01 Data Ingestion and Transformation Practice Question
Network Topology
Refer to the exhibit. A data engineer deploys this CloudFormation template to create an AWS Glue job. The job fails on the first run with an error: 'AccessDeniedException: User: arn:aws:sts::123456789012:assumed-role/GlueServiceRole/... is not authorized to perform: s3:GetObject on resource: s3://my-bucket/scripts/etl.py'. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
The DEA-C01 exam often tests the distinction between permissions errors and configuration errors, where candidates might incorrectly focus on script location format or job parameters instead of recognizing that an AccessDeniedException is a clear IAM permissions issue.
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
✓
The IAM role associated with the Glue job does not have an S3 GetObject permission for the script location.
The error message indicates that the IAM role 'GlueServiceRole' assumed by the AWS Glue job does not have the s3:GetObject permission for the script object at s3://my-bucket/scripts/etl.py. AWS Glue requires the execution role to have read access to the script location specified in the 'ScriptLocation' parameter. Without this permission, the job fails immediately on startup because it cannot download and execute the ETL script.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The ExecutionProperty MaxConcurrentRuns is set to 1, preventing the job from running.
Why it's wrong here
MaxConcurrentRuns limits simultaneous executions and would produce a concurrent-runs-exceeded error, not AccessDeniedException on s3:GetObject. It is tempting because execution properties do affect job behaviour, and this would be the correct cause if the job failed with a throttling or concurrency error instead.
- ✓
The IAM role associated with the Glue job does not have an S3 GetObject permission for the script location.
Why this is correct
AWS Glue assumes the job's IAM role to fetch the ETL script from S3 before execution begins. The AccessDeniedException naming s3:GetObject on the script path shows the role's policy lacks that permission, so the identity-based policy must grant GetObject on the script location.
- ✗
The MaxRetries is set to 0, so the job does not retry on failure.
Why it's wrong here
MaxRetries governs retry attempts after a failure, not IAM permissions; the AccessDeniedException on s3:GetObject means the GlueServiceRole's policy lacks that action. Raising MaxRetries would simply repeat the same denial. Retry configuration is relevant when diagnosing transient throttling or timeouts, not authorisation errors.
- ✗
The script location is incorrectly specified; it should be an S3 URI with bucket and key.
Why it's wrong here
The error is an IAM permission denial on s3:GetObject, so the role's policy lacks the required S3 read action; a malformed URI would produce a different failure, such as a validation or not-found error. Correctly formatting the S3 URI matters when Glue cannot locate the script at all, not when access is explicitly refused.
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 |
Go deeper
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.