DEA-C01 Data Ingestion and Transformation Practice Question
Network Topology
Refer to the exhibit. A Lambda function named 'IngestionProcessor' is failing. The engineer checks CloudWatch Logs and sees the log group exists but storedBytes is 0. Why might the logs show no data?
⚠ Common exam trap
The DEA-C01 exam often tests the distinction between log group creation (which requires `logs:CreateLogGroup`) and log writing (which requires `logs:CreateLogStream` and `logs:PutLogEvents`), leading candidates to confuse the existence of a log group with successful log delivery.
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 Lambda execution role does not have permission to write logs to CloudWatch
The Lambda execution role must have the `logs:CreateLogStream` and `logs:PutLogEvents` permissions to write logs to CloudWatch Logs. If the role lacks these permissions, the log group will be created (if it doesn't exist) but no log events will be written, resulting in `storedBytes` being 0. This is a common misconfiguration when the IAM policy does not include the necessary CloudWatch Logs actions.
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 Lambda execution role does not have permission to write logs to CloudWatch
Why this is correct
Without logs:write permission on its execution role, Lambda cannot create log streams or put events, so the log group exists but storedBytes stays 0. The stem's constraint is an empty log group despite invocations, which points to missing CloudWatch Logs write authorisation rather than retention or filtering.
- ✗
The Lambda function is configured with a dead letter queue
Why it's wrong here
A dead letter queue only captures failed asynchronous invocations; it does not write execution logs, so its presence cannot explain an empty log group. It is tempting because DLQs diagnose invocation failures, and it would be relevant if the question asked where failed events are sent rather than why storedBytes is zero.
- ✗
The Lambda function has not been invoked yet
Why it's wrong here
A log group with storedBytes of 0 means no log events were ever written, which happens when the function has never run. It is tempting because an uninvoked function genuinely produces no logs, but the stem states the function is failing, so invocations are occurring and the absence of data must stem from a permissions or configuration fault instead.
- ✗
The log group is encrypted with a KMS key and the Lambda function lacks decrypt permission
Why it's wrong here
KMS encryption governs reading stored log data, not whether CloudWatch Logs accepts and writes events; a Lambda lacking kms:Decrypt still delivers logs, so storedBytes would not be zero. It is tempting because KMS permissions commonly break log delivery, but that failure manifests as rejected PutLogEvents calls, not an empty log group.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
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Courseiva writes every DEA-C01 question from scratch — 1,321 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.