Question 190 of 724
DVA-C02 Troubleshooting and Optimization Practice Question
A developer reports that an AWS Lambda function is timing out after 3 seconds. The function reads from an Amazon SQS queue. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse timeout with memory or permissions issues, but the exact 3-second timeout is a direct indicator of the default Lambda timeout being too low, not a resource or authorization problem.
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 function timeout is set to 3 seconds, which is too low.
The Lambda function is timing out after exactly 3 seconds because its configured timeout is set to 3 seconds, which is too low for the workload. Lambda has a maximum execution timeout of 15 minutes (900 seconds), but the default timeout is 3 seconds. Since the function reads from an SQS queue, it likely needs more time to process messages, and increasing the timeout value will resolve the issue.
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 function memory is set too low, causing slow execution.
Why it's wrong here
While insufficient memory can lead to increased execution duration due to CPU throttling or excessive garbage collection, it typically results in variable execution times or out-of-memory errors, not a consistent, hard timeout at exactly 3 seconds. A consistent timeout at a specific duration strongly suggests the explicit timeout setting is being hit, rather than a general performance bottleneck.
- ✓
The Lambda function timeout is set to 3 seconds, which is too low.
Why this is correct
AWS Lambda functions have a configurable timeout setting, with a default value of 3 seconds. If the function's execution logic, including any external API calls or complex processing, exceeds this configured duration, Lambda will forcibly terminate the invocation and report a timeout error. This is a common and direct cause for consistent timeouts occurring at a specific, short duration.
- ✗
The Lambda execution role lacks permissions to poll SQS.
Why it's wrong here
If the Lambda function's execution role lacked the necessary `sqs:ReceiveMessage` or `sqs:DeleteMessage` permissions to interact with an SQS queue, the invocation would fail with an `AccessDeniedException` or similar permission-related error. These are distinct from a timeout error, which indicates the function ran for its maximum allowed duration before completion, not that it was denied access.
- ✗
The SQS queue is empty, causing the function to wait indefinitely.
Why it's wrong here
When a Lambda function is triggered by an SQS event source mapping, it processes messages available in batches. If the SQS queue is empty, the event source mapping simply won't invoke the Lambda function, or the function will complete quickly if invoked with an empty batch. It will not cause the function to wait indefinitely and then time out; the function's own execution timeout governs its maximum runtime, regardless of queue emptiness.
Visual reference
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 |
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 →
Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
This DVA-C02 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 DVA-C02 exam.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.