- A
Amazon Kinesis Data Streams
Why wrong: S3 does not natively send events to Kinesis.
- B
Amazon CloudWatch Events
Why wrong: CloudWatch Events can trigger Lambda on a schedule, not directly from S3 events.
- C
Amazon SQS
Why wrong: SQS cannot directly invoke Lambda; Lambda polls SQS but S3 cannot send events to SQS to trigger Lambda.
- D
Amazon SNS
S3 can send event notifications to SNS, which can then invoke the Lambda function.
- E
AWS Lambda S3 event notifications
S3 can directly invoke Lambda by configuring event notifications on the bucket.
Question 594 of 1,616
Trigger Lambda on S3 Upload
This DVA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of development with aws services. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 using AWS Lambda and Amazon S3. The application must process files immediately after they are uploaded to an S3 bucket. Which TWO services can be used to trigger the Lambda function?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"immediately / without restart"Why it matters: Time or reboot constraint — the correct answer must take effect right away without requiring a reboot or reload.
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 SNS
Option D is correct because Amazon SNS can be configured to send S3 event notifications (e.g., s3:ObjectCreated:*) to a Lambda function as a subscriber. When a file is uploaded to S3, the bucket can publish a notification to an SNS topic, which then asynchronously invokes the Lambda function. This allows the Lambda function to process the file immediately after upload.
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 Kinesis Data Streams
Why it's wrong here
S3 does not natively send events to Kinesis.
- ✗
Amazon CloudWatch Events
Why it's wrong here
CloudWatch Events can trigger Lambda on a schedule, not directly from S3 events.
- ✗
Amazon SQS
Why it's wrong here
SQS cannot directly invoke Lambda; Lambda polls SQS but S3 cannot send events to SQS to trigger Lambda.
- ✓
Amazon SNS
Why this is correct
S3 can send event notifications to SNS, which can then invoke the Lambda function.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "immediately / without restart" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
AWS Lambda S3 event notifications
Why this is correct
S3 can directly invoke Lambda by configuring event notifications on the bucket.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "immediately / without restart" 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 confuse S3 event notifications as a separate AWS service rather than a feature of S3, leading them to overlook that 'AWS Lambda S3 event notifications' is the correct native trigger, while SNS is an alternative valid trigger for the same purpose.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, S3 event notifications are sent via the S3 API to a destination such as SNS, SQS, or Lambda directly. When using SNS, the notification is published as a JSON message to the topic, and Lambda subscribes to the topic using the AWS SNS protocol, which invokes the function with the event payload. A subtle behavior is that S3 event notifications are asynchronous and may have a slight delay (typically within seconds), but they are guaranteed to be delivered at least once. In a real-world scenario, using SNS as an intermediary allows fan-out to multiple subscribers (e.g., Lambda, SQS, and another service) for parallel processing.
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 Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
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.
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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 SNS — Option D is correct because Amazon SNS can be configured to send S3 event notifications (e.g., s3:ObjectCreated:*) to a Lambda function as a subscriber. When a file is uploaded to S3, the bucket can publish a notification to an SNS topic, which then asynchronously invokes the Lambda function. This allows the Lambda function to process the file immediately after upload.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "immediately / without restart". Time or reboot constraint — the correct answer must take effect right away without requiring a reboot or reload.
What is the key concept behind this question?
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 →
Same concept, more angles
1 more ways this is tested on DVA-C02
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company is building a serverless application using AWS Lambda and Amazon API Gateway. The application needs to process user uploads to an S3 bucket. The Lambda function should be invoked only when new objects are created in the bucket. Which service should be used to trigger the Lambda function?
medium- A.Amazon Kinesis Data Streams
- ✓ B.Amazon S3 event notifications
- C.Amazon CloudWatch Events
- D.Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS)
Why B: Option B is correct because Amazon S3 can send event notifications directly to AWS Lambda when new objects are created. Option A (Amazon Kinesis Data Streams) is incorrect because it is used for real-time streaming data, not for triggering Lambda from S3 events directly; it would require additional components. Option C (Amazon CloudWatch Events) is incorrect because it is used for scheduling or responding to AWS resource state changes, not for S3 object creation events directly. Option D (Amazon Simple Queue Service) is incorrect because it requires polling by a consumer, and while S3 can send events to SQS, the question asks for the service that triggers the Lambda function directly; S3 event notifications are the simplest direct integration.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 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.
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