- A
Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose with direct S3 delivery
Why wrong: Kinesis Firehose does not provide built-in custom transformation without Lambda and cannot partition output dynamically.
- B
Amazon Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka (MSK) with Amazon S3 sink connector
Why wrong: MSK introduces operational overhead and is not the simplest solution for this use case.
- C
Amazon DynamoDB Streams with AWS Lambda and Amazon S3
Why wrong: DynamoDB Streams is for change data capture from DynamoDB, not for IoT streaming data.
- D
Amazon Kinesis Data Streams with AWS Lambda and Amazon S3
Kinesis Data Streams for ingestion, Lambda for real-time transformation, and S3 for storage with partitioning.
MLS-C01 Data Engineering Practice Question
This MLS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data engineering. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 company is building a data pipeline to process streaming data from IoT devices. The data must be ingested with low latency, transformed in real-time using custom logic, and stored in Amazon S3 partitioned by device ID and timestamp. Which combination of AWS services should the company use to meet these requirements?
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 Kinesis Data Streams with AWS Lambda and Amazon S3
Option D is correct because Amazon Kinesis Data Streams provides low-latency ingestion of streaming data, AWS Lambda can apply custom transformation logic in real-time, and the transformed data can be stored in Amazon S3 with partitioning by device ID and timestamp using AWS Lambda to write to S3 with appropriate prefix. Option A is incorrect because Kinesis Data Firehose does not support custom transformation without invoking a Lambda function and cannot partition on write at the level of granularity required (device ID and timestamp). Option B is incorrect because Amazon MSK adds operational overhead and is more complex than needed; although an S3 sink connector can write to S3, it does not easily support custom transformation and partitioning by device ID and timestamp without additional configuration. Option C is incorrect because DynamoDB Streams is designed for change data capture from DynamoDB tables and is not suitable for direct ingestion of high-volume IoT streaming data.
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 Firehose with direct S3 delivery
Why it's wrong here
Kinesis Firehose does not provide built-in custom transformation without Lambda and cannot partition output dynamically.
- ✗
Amazon Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka (MSK) with Amazon S3 sink connector
Why it's wrong here
MSK introduces operational overhead and is not the simplest solution for this use case.
- ✗
Amazon DynamoDB Streams with AWS Lambda and Amazon S3
Why it's wrong here
DynamoDB Streams is for change data capture from DynamoDB, not for IoT streaming data.
- ✓
Amazon Kinesis Data Streams with AWS Lambda and Amazon S3
Why this is correct
Kinesis Data Streams for ingestion, Lambda for real-time transformation, and S3 for storage with partitioning.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
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.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
Kinesis Firehose does not provide built-in custom transformation without Lambda and cannot partition output dynamically.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
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.
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.
- Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
- Underline the problem statement mentally.
- 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 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
Questions learners often ask
What does this MLS-C01 question test?
Data Engineering — This question tests Data Engineering — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Amazon Kinesis Data Streams with AWS Lambda and Amazon S3 — Option D is correct because Amazon Kinesis Data Streams provides low-latency ingestion of streaming data, AWS Lambda can apply custom transformation logic in real-time, and the transformed data can be stored in Amazon S3 with partitioning by device ID and timestamp using AWS Lambda to write to S3 with appropriate prefix. Option A is incorrect because Kinesis Data Firehose does not support custom transformation without invoking a Lambda function and cannot partition on write at the level of granularity required (device ID and timestamp). Option B is incorrect because Amazon MSK adds operational overhead and is more complex than needed; although an S3 sink connector can write to S3, it does not easily support custom transformation and partitioning by device ID and timestamp without additional configuration. Option C is incorrect because DynamoDB Streams is designed for change data capture from DynamoDB tables and is not suitable for direct ingestion of high-volume IoT streaming data.
What should I do if I get this MLS-C01 question wrong?
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.
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 →
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Last reviewed: Jun 20, 2026
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