DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
Network Topology
Refer to the exhibit. A data engineer is troubleshooting write throttling on the Orders table. The table has a composite primary key (OrderID as partition key, CustomerID as sort key). The engineer notices that writes are throttled even though the write capacity is not fully utilized. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
AWS often tests the misconception that overall table capacity utilization is the sole indicator of throttling, but the trap here is that throttling can occur at the partition level due to hot keys, even when the table's total write capacity is underutilized.
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
✓
Writes are concentrated on a single partition key value.
D is correct because write throttling on an Amazon DynamoDB table occurs when requests exceed the provisioned throughput for a specific partition, even if the overall table write capacity is underutilized. With a composite primary key where OrderID is the partition key, writes concentrated on a single OrderID value (e.g., a hot key) will hit that partition's 3,000 WCU or 1,000 WCU (on-demand) limit, causing throttling while other partitions remain idle.
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 table is empty and has no items.
Why it's wrong here
Empty table would not cause throttling.
- ✗
A global secondary index (GSI) is consuming write capacity.
Why it's wrong here
No GSI is defined in the exhibit.
- ✗
The read capacity units are too low.
Why it's wrong here
Read capacity does not affect writes.
- ✓
Writes are concentrated on a single partition key value.
Why this is correct
Hot partition causes throttling even if total capacity is not exceeded.
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