This DBS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of workload-specific database design. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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.
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit.
CloudWatch Logs snippet:
"2023-01-15T10:00:00Z [ERROR] ... Timeout error while writing to Amazon Redshift cluster."
Cluster configuration: dc2.large, 2 nodes, RA3 nodes not used.
A data analyst reports that a nightly ETL job to Amazon Redshift is failing with timeout errors shown in the exhibit. The cluster is a dc2.large with 2 nodes. The ETL job inserts large volumes of data. What is the most likely cause?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit.
CloudWatch Logs snippet:
"2023-01-15T10:00:00Z [ERROR] ... Timeout error while writing to Amazon Redshift cluster."
Cluster configuration: dc2.large, 2 nodes, RA3 nodes not used.
A
The cluster has reached the maximum number of connections.
Why wrong: Redshift does not have a hard max_connections limit.
B
The workload manager (WLM) queue timeout is too low.
Why wrong: WLM timeout would result in a different error message.
C
The security group is blocking inbound traffic from the ETL server.
Why wrong: Blocked traffic would prevent connection, not cause timeout during writes.
D
The cluster has insufficient disk space for the data load.
dc2 nodes use local SSD; full disk causes write failures.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The cluster has insufficient disk space for the data load.
The dc2.large node type has a fixed storage limit of 160 GB per node (320 GB total for 2 nodes). When an ETL job inserts large volumes of data and the cluster runs out of disk space, Redshift cannot write new rows, causing the load to hang and eventually time out. Insufficient disk space is a common cause of timeout errors during bulk inserts because the database cannot complete the write operations.
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.
✗
The cluster has reached the maximum number of connections.
Why it's wrong here
Redshift does not have a hard max_connections limit.
✗
The workload manager (WLM) queue timeout is too low.
Why it's wrong here
WLM timeout would result in a different error message.
✗
The security group is blocking inbound traffic from the ETL server.
Why it's wrong here
Blocked traffic would prevent connection, not cause timeout during writes.
✓
The cluster has insufficient disk space for the data load.
Why this is correct
dc2 nodes use local SSD; full disk causes write failures.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often attribute timeout errors to network or WLM configuration issues, overlooking the fact that Redshift's fixed storage per node can be silently exhausted during large data loads, leading to apparent timeouts rather than explicit 'disk full' errors.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Redshift dc2 nodes use local SSD storage with a fixed capacity; when disk space is exhausted, the database cannot extend tables or sort data, causing all write operations to stall. The COPY command or INSERT operations will wait indefinitely for available space until the client-side timeout is reached. Monitoring disk space via STV_DISK_USAGE or STV_PARTITIONS can reveal the issue, and the solution often involves resizing the cluster, archiving old data, or using deep copy to reclaim space.
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.
TExam Day Tips
→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 exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Workload-Specific Database Design — This question tests Workload-Specific Database Design — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The cluster has insufficient disk space for the data load. — The dc2.large node type has a fixed storage limit of 160 GB per node (320 GB total for 2 nodes). When an ETL job inserts large volumes of data and the cluster runs out of disk space, Redshift cannot write new rows, causing the load to hang and eventually time out. Insufficient disk space is a common cause of timeout errors during bulk inserts because the database cannot complete the write operations.
What should I do if I get this DBS-C01 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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