MLA-C01 Data Preparation for Machine Learning Practice Question
A company ingests daily log data into an S3 bucket. They need to update the existing ML training dataset with new data without reprocessing the entire history. Which two strategies should they adopt? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
AWS often tests the misconception that S3 supports append operations or that simply copying new files to the same bucket constitutes an incremental update strategy, when in reality S3 objects are immutable and a proper processing framework like AWS Glue with job bookmarks is required.
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 Glue to incrementally process new partitions
AWS Glue can perform incremental processing by using job bookmarks to track previously processed data and only process new partitions or files. This avoids reprocessing the entire historical dataset, making it efficient for updating ML training datasets with daily log data.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Store all data in a single large file and use append operations
Why it's wrong here
Single files are not scalable and appending is inefficient for S3.
- ✓
Use AWS Glue to incrementally process new partitions
Why this is correct
Glue can process only new partitions using job bookmarks.
- ✓
Use a partition key such as date to add new partitions
Why this is correct
Partitioning allows efficient updates by only adding new data.
- ✗
Manually copy new files to the same S3 bucket
Why it's wrong here
Manual processes are error-prone and not scalable.
- ✗
Overwrite the entire existing dataset with the new data
Why it's wrong here
Reprocessing all data is costly and unnecessary.
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
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This MLA-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 MLA-C01 exam.