SAP-C02 Practice Question: Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization
A company is migrating an on-premises Hadoop cluster to Amazon EMR. The cluster processes large datasets that are stored on HDFS. The company wants to minimize migration effort and cost. Which storage option should the company use with Amazon EMR?
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 S3 with EMRFS
Amazon S3 with EMRFS allows EMR to use S3 as a scalable, durable, and cost-effective storage layer, eliminating the need to manage HDFS. Option A is incorrect because EBS volumes require provisioning and management, and do not provide the same scalability and cost benefits. Option C is incorrect because Amazon FSx for HDFS is suitable for workloads requiring HDFS compatibility but is more complex and expensive than using S3. Option D is incorrect because Amazon EFS is a file system, not optimized for Hadoop workloads and typically used for shared file storage.
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 EBS volumes attached to the core nodes
Why it's wrong here
EBS requires management and does not provide the elasticity of S3.
- ✓
Amazon S3 with EMRFS
Why this is correct
EMRFS allows EMR to use S3 as a drop-in replacement for HDFS.
- ✗
Amazon FSx for HDFS
Why it's wrong here
Amazon FSx for HDFS is incorrect because it is primarily designed for hybrid cloud architectures, enabling on-premises Hadoop clusters to access data on AWS, or for specific high-performance, POSIX-compliant storage needs. For an Amazon EMR cluster running entirely within AWS, Amazon S3 is the native, highly scalable, and most cost-effective storage option, directly integrating with EMR and minimising migration effort and cost. Using FSx for HDFS would introduce unnecessary complexity and expense for this fully cloud-native migration.
- ✗
Amazon Elastic File System (EFS)
Why it's wrong here
EFS is a general-purpose file system, not optimized for Hadoop workloads.
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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