DEA-C01 Data Operations and Support Practice Question
Which TWO AWS services can be used to schedule and orchestrate ETL workflows that involve multiple steps and dependencies? (Choose 2.)
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
✓
AWS Step Functions
The correct answers are D (AWS Step Functions) and E (Amazon Managed Workflows for Apache Airflow). AWS Step Functions is a serverless orchestration service that lets you coordinate multiple AWS services into flexible, multi-step workflows. It is ideal for ETL pipelines that require sequential steps, branching, and error handling. Amazon MWAA is a managed service for Apache Airflow, an open-source platform used to programmatically author, schedule, and monitor workflows. MWAA simplifies setting up and operating Airflow, making it suitable for complex ETL orchestration with dependencies. In contrast, AWS Batch (A) is designed for batch computing jobs, not workflow orchestration. AWS Lambda (B) is for individual serverless functions, not multi-step orchestration. AWS Data Pipeline (C) is an older ETL orchestration service that is less flexible and less commonly used compared to Step Functions and MWAA.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
AWS Batch
Why it's wrong here
Batch is for running batch jobs, not for orchestrating dependencies.
- ✗
AWS Lambda
Why it's wrong here
Lambda is for serverless functions, not workflow orchestration.
- ✗
AWS Data Pipeline
Why it's wrong here
Data Pipeline is a legacy service; not the best choice today.
- ✓
AWS Step Functions
Why this is correct
Step Functions can coordinate multiple AWS services into workflows.
- ✓
Amazon Managed Workflows for Apache Airflow (MWAA)
Why this is correct
MWAA is a managed Apache Airflow environment for orchestration.
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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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.