Quick Answer
The answer is to review batch size, parallelization factor, and shard count first. A high Kinesis Lambda IteratorAge means your function is falling behind, and these three settings directly control how many records your function processes per invocation and how many concurrent invocations can run per shard. The IteratorAge metric itself is the primary signal—it measures the lag between when a record is written to the stream and when Lambda processes it—so you must check it, but the root cause is almost always insufficient throughput from the event source mapping. On the AWS Certified Developer Associate DVA-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of Lambda’s event source mapping concurrency model; a common trap is to only adjust the function’s memory or timeout, which won’t help because the bottleneck is at the mapping level, not the function’s compute capacity. Remember the mnemonic “BPS” for Batch size, Parallelization factor, and Shard count—these three knobs are what you turn to reduce IteratorAge and keep your stream processing on track.
This DVA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of troubleshooting and optimization. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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.
A Lambda function reading from Kinesis is falling behind. Which two metrics/settings should be reviewed first?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "first"
Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
IteratorAge for the event source mapping
Correct for the stated requirement.
S3 bucket public access settings
Why wrong: This does not meet the stated requirement as directly as the correct option.
Route 53 hosted zone count
Why wrong: This does not meet the stated requirement as directly as the correct option.
Batch size, parallelization factor, and shard count
Correct for the stated requirement.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
IteratorAge for the event source mapping
The IteratorAge metric measures how far behind the Lambda function is in processing records from the Kinesis stream. A high IteratorAge indicates the function is falling behind, making it the primary metric to review. The batch size, parallelization factor, and shard count directly control the concurrency and throughput of the event source mapping, so adjusting these settings can help catch up.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
IteratorAge for the event source mapping
Why this is correct
Correct for the stated requirement.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
S3 bucket public access settings
Why it's wrong here
This does not meet the stated requirement as directly as the correct option.
Route 53 hosted zone count
Why it's wrong here
This does not meet the stated requirement as directly as the correct option.
Batch size, parallelization factor, and shard count
Why this is correct
Correct for the stated requirement.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates may overlook the direct performance-tuning metrics (IteratorAge, batch size, parallelization factor) and instead focus on unrelated AWS services like S3 or Route 53, which are red herrings in this troubleshooting context.
Detailed technical explanation
Kinesis shards each provide a fixed read throughput of 2 MB/s or 5 read transactions per second. If the Lambda function’s batch size is too small or the parallelization factor (which allows one Lambda invocation per shard) is not set to maximum, the function cannot consume records fast enough, causing IteratorAge to grow. In real-world scenarios, a sudden spike in stream data volume without adjusting these settings can lead to hours of backlog.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Troubleshooting and Optimization — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
Troubleshooting and Optimization practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
All DVA-C02 questions
1,616 questions across all exam domains
AWS Certified Developer Associate DVA-C02 study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
DVA-C02 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Practise DVA-C02 questions linked to Development with AWS Services.
Practise DVA-C02 questions linked to Security.
Practise DVA-C02 questions linked to Deployment.
Practise DVA-C02 questions linked to Troubleshooting and Optimization.
Practise DVA-C02 questions linked to DVA-C02 fundamentals.
Practise DVA-C02 questions linked to DVA-C02 scenario.
Practise DVA-C02 questions linked to DVA-C02 troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Troubleshooting and Optimization — This question tests Troubleshooting and Optimization — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: IteratorAge for the event source mapping — The IteratorAge metric measures how far behind the Lambda function is in processing records from the Kinesis stream. A high IteratorAge indicates the function is falling behind, making it the primary metric to review. The batch size, parallelization factor, and shard count directly control the concurrency and throughput of the event source mapping, so adjusting these settings can help catch up.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Yes — watch for: "first". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
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 →
Keep practising
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 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.