SAP-C02 Practice Question: Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization
A company is migrating a 2 PB data lake from on-premises HDFS to Amazon S3. The data is in Parquet format and is accessed by Spark jobs. The migration must be completed within 30 days over a 1 Gbps network. Which approach minimizes cost and meets the deadline?
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
✓
Order multiple AWS Snowball Edge devices, copy data, and return them. Then set up AWS Glue jobs to convert to Parquet if needed.
AWS Snowball Edge devices provide a petabyte-scale offline transfer solution, capable of moving 2 PB of data within the 30-day deadline without relying on the 1 Gbps network bandwidth. Option A (DataSync over Direct Connect) and Option B (VPN + rsync) are limited by the 1 Gbps network, which can transfer only about 324 TB in 30 days, insufficient for 2 PB. Option C (AWS Transfer Family over FTP) is also bandwidth-limited and inefficient for large-scale data. Snowball Edge avoids network constraints, making it the most cost-effective and timely approach.
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 AWS DataSync over a Direct Connect connection.
Why it's wrong here
DataSync is optimized for smaller datasets; 2 PB over 1 Gbps exceeds the bandwidth capacity.
- ✗
Set up a VPN connection and use rsync to copy data to S3.
Why it's wrong here
rsync over VPN is slow and not suitable for large data volumes.
- ✗
Use AWS Transfer Family to send data over FTP to S3.
Why it's wrong here
FTP over 1 Gbps is too slow for 2 PB in 30 days.
- ✓
Order multiple AWS Snowball Edge devices, copy data, and return them. Then set up AWS Glue jobs to convert to Parquet if needed.
Why this is correct
Snowball Edge provides high-capacity offline transfer, meeting the deadline.
Visual reference
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 |
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Same concept, more angles
2 more ways this is tested on SAP-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 migrating 50 TB of data from on-premises to Amazon S3 over a 100 Mbps internet connection. The migration must complete within 30 days. What should they do?
medium- ✓ A.Use AWS Snowball Edge devices
- B.Use AWS DataSync to transfer data
- C.Use AWS Direct Connect to increase bandwidth
- D.Use S3 Transfer Acceleration
Why A: At 100 Mbps, transferring 50 TB would take approximately 48 days (50 TB * 1024 GB/TB * 1024 MB/GB * 8 bits/byte / (100 Mbps) / 86400 sec/day ≈ 48 days), exceeding the 30-day window. AWS Snowball Edge can transfer data faster via physical shipment. Option A (increase bandwidth) may not be feasible. Option C (S3 Transfer Acceleration) still uses internet. Option D (AWS DataSync) also uses network.
Variation 2. A company is planning to migrate 50 TB of data from on-premises to Amazon S3 over a 100 Mbps internet connection. The data is not time-sensitive and can tolerate some latency. Which migration method is MOST cost-effective and suitable?
easy- A.Use AWS DataSync over the existing internet connection.
- B.Enable S3 Transfer Acceleration on the destination bucket.
- ✓ C.Use AWS Snowball Edge devices to transfer the data.
- D.Provision a 1 Gbps AWS Direct Connect connection.
Why C: AWS Snowball Edge is designed for large-scale data transfer when network bandwidth is limited, making it cost-effective for 50 TB over a 100 Mbps link. Option A is wrong because AWS DataSync over the internet would take very long (approximately 46 days) and is not optimal for such a large volume. Option B is wrong because S3 Transfer Acceleration improves speed via optimized routing but cannot overcome the 100 Mbps bandwidth cap; the transfer would still be slow. Option D is wrong because a 1 Gbps Direct Connect connection would be significantly more expensive than Snowball Edge, and since the data is not time-sensitive, physical shipment is more suitable.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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