This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data store management. 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.
Which THREE factors should a data engineer consider when choosing between Amazon RDS and Amazon DynamoDB for a new application? (Choose three.)
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Whether the workload requires serverless scaling.
Options B, C, and D are correct. B: relational vs NoSQL. C: DynamoDB is serverless; RDS requires provisioning. D: DynamoDB scales horizontally; RDS scales vertically. A is irrelevant because both can use VPC. E is not a primary factor.
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.
✓
Whether the workload requires serverless scaling.
Why this is correct
DynamoDB is serverless; RDS requires manual scaling.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Whether the data model is relational or key-value.
Why this is correct
RDS is relational; DynamoDB is key-value.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Whether the data must be encrypted at rest by default.
Whether the application needs to scale horizontally for high throughput.
Why this is correct
DynamoDB scales horizontally; RDS typically scales vertically.
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
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
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 Store Management — This question tests Data Store Management — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Whether the workload requires serverless scaling. — Options B, C, and D are correct. B: relational vs NoSQL. C: DynamoDB is serverless; RDS requires provisioning. D: DynamoDB scales horizontally; RDS scales vertically. A is irrelevant because both can use VPC. E is not a primary factor.
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.
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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.
Question Discussion
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