Question 377 of 1,616
Development with AWS ServiceshardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

Trigger Lambda Asynchronously with S3 Event Notifications

This DVA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of development with aws services. 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.

A developer is designing a serverless application that processes images uploaded to an S3 bucket. Each image must be resized and then stored in a different S3 bucket. The process must be asynchronous and fault-tolerant. Which AWS service should trigger the Lambda function?

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

Amazon S3 Event Notifications

Amazon S3 Event Notifications are the correct trigger because they natively support event-driven architectures where S3 object creation events (e.g., s3:ObjectCreated:Put) can directly invoke a Lambda function. This enables asynchronous processing of uploaded images without any intermediate polling or custom integration, ensuring fault tolerance through Lambda's built-in retry mechanism and dead-letter queue (DLQ) support.

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 Event Notifications

    Why this is correct

    S3 can directly invoke Lambda asynchronously on object creation.

    Related concept

    Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

  • Amazon SQS

    Why it's wrong here

    S3 cannot directly send to SQS; requires S3 Event Notifications to SQS.

  • Amazon API Gateway

    Why it's wrong here

    API Gateway is synchronous; not suitable for async processing.

  • AWS Step Functions

    Why it's wrong here

    Step Functions can orchestrate but is not the trigger.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates often confuse the service that triggers the Lambda (S3 Event Notifications) with the service that stores or routes the event data (SQS or Step Functions), leading them to pick an option that adds unnecessary complexity or is designed for a different use case.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

Under the hood, S3 Event Notifications use a push-based model where S3 sends a JSON event record to the Lambda function via an internal AWS-managed endpoint, with the function receiving the bucket name and object key. A subtle behavior is that S3 event notifications are delivered on a best-effort basis and may occasionally be duplicated, so the Lambda function should be idempotent to handle duplicate invocations. In a real-world scenario, if the image processing fails, Lambda's asynchronous invocation automatically retries twice and can route failed events to a DLQ for later analysis, ensuring fault tolerance without manual intervention.

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.

Quick reference

AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison

Storage ClassMin DurationRetrievalUse Case
S3 StandardNoneImmediateFrequently accessed data
S3 Standard-IA30 daysImmediateInfrequent access, rapid retrieval
S3 One Zone-IA30 daysImmediateNon-critical infrequent data
S3 Intelligent-TieringNoneImmediate–hoursUnknown or changing access patterns
S3 Glacier Instant90 daysMillisecondsArchive with instant retrieval
S3 Glacier Flexible90 daysMinutes–hoursArchive, flexible retrieval
S3 Glacier Deep Archive180 daysHoursLong-term compliance archive

What to study next

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this DVA-C02 question test?

Development with AWS Services — This question tests Development with AWS Services — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Amazon S3 Event Notifications — Amazon S3 Event Notifications are the correct trigger because they natively support event-driven architectures where S3 object creation events (e.g., s3:ObjectCreated:Put) can directly invoke a Lambda function. This enables asynchronous processing of uploaded images without any intermediate polling or custom integration, ensuring fault tolerance through Lambda's built-in retry mechanism and dead-letter queue (DLQ) support.

What should I do if I get this DVA-C02 question wrong?

Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026

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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.