MLS-C01 Data Engineering Practice Question
A company needs to transfer 10 TB of data from an on-premises data center to Amazon S3. The network bandwidth is limited to 100 Mbps, and the transfer must complete within 5 days. Which TWO options are viable? (Choose TWO.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often assume S3 Transfer Acceleration or Multipart Upload can magically overcome bandwidth limitations, but they only optimize existing throughput—they cannot exceed the physical capacity of the network link. Another trap is to overlook Direct Connect as a viable option, thinking it requires long lead times, but it can be provisioned quickly in some cases and effectively increases bandwidth.
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
✓
Use AWS Snowball Edge device to ship the data
AWS Snowball Edge is a physical data transport solution designed for large-scale data transfers over slow or unreliable networks. With 10 TB of data and a 100 Mbps link, the theoretical transfer time is over 9 days, exceeding the 5-day window. Snowball Edge bypasses the network bottleneck entirely by shipping the data via courier. Option E is also correct because AWS Direct Connect provides a dedicated network connection that can offer higher and more consistent bandwidth than the existing internet connection. If provisioned with sufficient capacity (e.g., 1 Gbps), the transfer can complete within the 5-day window. Options A and B are not viable because they cannot overcome the physical bandwidth limitation of 100 Mbps. Option D is not viable because DataSync still relies on the existing internet connection, which is insufficient.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Use S3 Transfer Acceleration to speed up the transfer
Why it's wrong here
Transfer Acceleration optimizes internet path but is still limited by the 100 Mbps bandwidth.
- ✗
Use S3 Multipart Upload to upload files in parallel
Why it's wrong here
Multipart Upload is for large files but still limited by bandwidth; cannot achieve 10 TB in 5 days over 100 Mbps.
- ✓
Use AWS Snowball Edge device to ship the data
Why this is correct
Snowball Edge is ideal for large data volumes over slow networks; physical shipping is faster.
- ✗
Use AWS DataSync over the existing internet connection
Why it's wrong here
DataSync can transfer data over the internet, but at 100 Mbps, it would take more than 5 days.
- ✓
Use AWS Direct Connect to establish a dedicated network connection
Why this is correct
Direct Connect requires setup and may not be provisioned in time; also bandwidth can be increased but cost may be high.
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 |
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 1,672 original MLS-C01 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This MLS-C01 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 MLS-C01 exam.