The answer is to use AWS Glue to create a data catalog and run ETL jobs for both streaming and batch data. This is correct because AWS Glue provides a fully managed, persistent data catalog that automatically integrates with Amazon Athena and Redshift Spectrum, allowing both services to query the same metadata without manual schema management. Glue ETL can natively handle both streaming data from Kinesis Data Streams and batch data from Snowball, unifying the processing pipeline under a single service. On the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional SAP-C02 exam, this question tests your understanding that the Glue Data Catalog is the central metadata repository for a data lake, not Athena or Lake Formation. A common trap is assuming Athena catalogs data or that Kinesis Data Firehose handles batch ingestion—it does not. Remember the memory tip: “Glue sticks the catalog together for both streams and batches.”
SAP-C02 Design for New Solutions Practice Question
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of design for new solutions. 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 company is designing a data lake on AWS using Amazon S3 as the storage layer. The data lake will ingest data from multiple sources, including streaming data from Amazon Kinesis Data Streams and batch data from on-premises systems via AWS Snowball. The company needs to catalog the data and make it available for querying with Amazon Athena and Amazon Redshift Spectrum. Which combination of services should the company use to meet these requirements?
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 create a data catalog and run ETL jobs for both streaming and batch data.
AWS Glue provides a managed data catalog that integrates with Athena and Redshift Spectrum. Glue ETL can handle both streaming and batch data. Option B is correct. Option A is wrong because Athena does not catalog data. Option C is wrong because Lake Formation builds on Glue. Option D is wrong because Kinesis Data Firehose is for streaming only.
Key principle: NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
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 Glue to create a data catalog and run ETL jobs for both streaming and batch data.
Why this is correct
Glue provides a data catalog and ETL capabilities.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
✗
Use AWS Lake Formation to set up the data lake and use its built-in catalog.
Why it's wrong here
Lake Formation uses Glue catalog, but the question asks for a combination.
✗
Use Amazon Athena to create tables and partitions directly from S3.
Why it's wrong here
Athena can query data but does not provide a managed catalog.
✗
Use Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose to deliver streaming data to S3 and catalog with Athena.
Why it's wrong here
Firehose does not catalog data.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
→Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
→Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
→Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
Key takeaway
NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
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.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related SAP-C02 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Design for New Solutions — This question tests Design for New Solutions — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use AWS Glue to create a data catalog and run ETL jobs for both streaming and batch data. — AWS Glue provides a managed data catalog that integrates with Athena and Redshift Spectrum. Glue ETL can handle both streaming and batch data. Option B is correct. Option A is wrong because Athena does not catalog data. Option C is wrong because Lake Formation builds on Glue. Option D is wrong because Kinesis Data Firehose is for streaming only.
What should I do if I get this SAP-C02 question wrong?
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related SAP-C02 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
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Question Discussion
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