The answer is Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose and Amazon MSK (Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka). Kinesis Data Firehose is purpose-built for streaming data ingestion into Amazon S3, as it can directly load real-time data streams into S3 without requiring custom code, while Amazon MSK can integrate with Kafka Connect to reliably sink streaming data into S3 using a connector. On the AWS Certified Data Engineer Associate DEA-C01 exam, this question tests your understanding of which services handle continuous, low-latency data ingestion versus batch or offline transfer methods. A common trap is confusing S3 Transfer Acceleration, which only speeds up existing uploads, or Snowball, which is for offline bulk data migration, with true streaming ingestion. Remember the mnemonic “Firehose flows, MSK connects” to recall that Kinesis Data Firehose delivers directly and MSK uses connectors for S3 sinks.
DEA-C01 Data Ingestion and Transformation Practice Question
This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data ingestion and transformation. 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 TWO AWS services can be used to ingest streaming data into Amazon S3? (Choose two.)
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Amazon Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka (Amazon MSK)
Option A and Option C are correct. Kinesis Data Firehose can directly deliver streaming data to S3. Amazon MSK can be used with Kafka Connect to sink data into S3. Option B is wrong because S3 Transfer Acceleration accelerates uploads but is not a streaming ingestion service. Option D is wrong because Snowball is for offline data transfer. Option E is wrong because EBS volumes are block storage attached to EC2.
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.
✗
Amazon S3 Transfer Acceleration
Why it's wrong here
Transfer Acceleration speeds up uploads but does not ingest streaming data.
✓
Amazon Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka (Amazon MSK)
Why this is correct
MSK can stream data to S3 via Kafka Connect S3 sink.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose
Why this is correct
Firehose can deliver streaming data to S3.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS)
Why it's wrong here
EBS provides block storage for EC2, not data ingestion.
✗
AWS Snowball
Why it's wrong here
Snowball is for physical data transfer, not streaming.
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 Ingestion and Transformation — This question tests Data Ingestion and Transformation — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Amazon Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka (Amazon MSK) — Option A and Option C are correct. Kinesis Data Firehose can directly deliver streaming data to S3. Amazon MSK can be used with Kafka Connect to sink data into S3. Option B is wrong because S3 Transfer Acceleration accelerates uploads but is not a streaming ingestion service. Option D is wrong because Snowball is for offline data transfer. Option E is wrong because EBS volumes are block storage attached to EC2.
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. Which TWO services can be used to ingest streaming data into Amazon S3? (Choose two.)
medium
A.Amazon Athena
B.AWS Glue
✓ C.Amazon Kinesis Data Streams
D.AWS Database Migration Service (DMS)
✓ E.Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose
Why C: Amazon Kinesis Data Streams is a real-time streaming service that can ingest and store streaming data, which can then be consumed and written to Amazon S3 using a Kinesis Data Analytics or a custom consumer application. Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose is a fully managed service that can directly load streaming data into Amazon S3, Amazon Redshift, or Amazon Elasticsearch Service, with optional data transformation and compression.
Variation 2. Which TWO AWS services can be used to ingest streaming data into Amazon S3 with minimal code? (Choose two.)
medium
A.AWS Lambda
✓ B.Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose
✓ C.Amazon Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka (MSK) with S3 sink connector
D.AWS Database Migration Service (DMS)
E.AWS DataSync
Why B: Option A (Kinesis Data Firehose) and Option D (Amazon MSK with S3 connector) are correct. Option B (Lambda) requires code. Option C (DMS) is for databases. Option E (DataSync) is for batch file transfers.
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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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