Quick Answer
The correct answer is AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) and AWS Glue, as these two services together enable an incremental load from a relational database to an S3 data lake. DMS handles the initial full load and then captures ongoing changes using continuous replication or scheduled tasks, writing the incremental data directly to S3. AWS Glue complements this by running ETL jobs that use job bookmarks to track previously processed data, ensuring only new or modified records are loaded in each daily run. On the AWS Certified Machine Learning Specialty MLS-C01 exam, this question tests your understanding of batch-oriented, incremental ingestion patterns versus streaming or query-only services—a common trap is confusing Glue’s batch capabilities with Kinesis’s real-time streaming or assuming Athena can load data. Remember the memory tip: “DMS moves it, Glue proves it” — DMS handles the database-to-S3 transfer, while Glue’s job bookmarks verify and process only the new increments.
This MLS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data engineering. 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 data engineer is designing a data pipeline that ingests data from a relational database into a data lake on Amazon S3. The data must be incrementally loaded daily. Which TWO AWS services can be used together to achieve this?
AWS Glue
Glue can use job bookmarks for incremental loads.
Amazon Kinesis Data Streams
Why wrong: Kinesis is for streaming data, not incremental batch from a database.
Amazon Athena
Why wrong: Athena is not an ingestion tool.
Amazon Redshift
Why wrong: Redshift is a destination, not an ingestion service.
AWS Database Migration Service (DMS)
DMS can do incremental replication to S3.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
AWS Glue
AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) can perform continuous replication or scheduled tasks to move data from a relational database to S3. AWS Glue can also connect to databases and run incremental ETL jobs using job bookmarks. Option A (Athena) is for querying, Option B (Kinesis) is for streaming, Option E (Redshift) is a data warehouse.
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.
AWS Glue
Why this is correct
Glue can use job bookmarks for incremental loads.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Amazon Kinesis Data Streams
Why it's wrong here
Kinesis is for streaming data, not incremental batch from a database.
Amazon Athena
Why it's wrong here
Athena is not an ingestion tool.
Amazon Redshift
Why it's wrong here
Redshift is a destination, not an ingestion service.
AWS Database Migration Service (DMS)
Why this is correct
DMS can do incremental replication to S3.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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 MLS-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
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FAQ
Data Engineering — This question tests Data Engineering — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: AWS Glue — AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) can perform continuous replication or scheduled tasks to move data from a relational database to S3. AWS Glue can also connect to databases and run incremental ETL jobs using job bookmarks. Option A (Athena) is for querying, Option B (Kinesis) is for streaming, Option E (Redshift) is a data warehouse.
Identify which MLS-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 20, 2026
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.
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