PAS-C01 Migration Practice Question
A media company is migrating its on-premises video processing infrastructure to AWS. The current infrastructure uses a custom application that splits video files into segments, transcodes them using FFmpeg, and assembles the final output. The application runs on a single server with 64 vCPUs and 256 GB RAM. The migration plan is to use AWS Batch with EC2 instances for the transcoding jobs. The video files are stored on an on-premises NAS and will be migrated to Amazon S3. The company needs to minimize latency for file access during migration and reduce the time to transfer initial data. The company has a 1 Gbps AWS Direct Connect connection. The total data volume is 500 TB. The migration window is 30 days. Which approach should the team use to transfer the initial data to S3 with the lowest latency and within the migration window?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates underestimate the bandwidth limitation of a 1 Gbps Direct Connect link over a 30-day window, assuming it can handle 500 TB, while failing to calculate the actual throughput (max ~324 TB) and ignoring that network overhead and contention further reduce effective transfer rates.
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 multiple AWS Snowball Edge devices to transfer the data in parallel, then copy from the devices to S3 using the Snowball client.
AWS Snowball Edge devices provide a physical, high-bandwidth transfer method that bypasses network constraints entirely. With 500 TB of data and a 1 Gbps Direct Connect link, the theoretical maximum transfer over the network in 30 days is only ~324 TB (1 Gbps * 30 days * 86400 seconds/day / 8 bits per byte), which is insufficient. Multiple Snowball Edge devices in parallel can transfer the full 500 TB within the migration window without saturating the Direct Connect link, and the Snowball client efficiently copies data to S3 after the devices are returned.
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 to transfer data over the Direct Connect connection in multiple concurrent tasks.
Why it's wrong here
At 1 Gbps, 500 TB would take approximately 46 days, exceeding the 30-day window.
- ✓
Use multiple AWS Snowball Edge devices to transfer the data in parallel, then copy from the devices to S3 using the Snowball client.
Why this is correct
Snowball Edge devices provide physical transport, overcoming bandwidth limitations and ensuring the transfer completes within 30 days.
- ✗
Use a single AWS Snowball Edge device and copy data incrementally.
Why it's wrong here
A single Snowball Edge device cannot complete the 500 TB transfer within the 30-day window because its usable storage capacity is 80 TB, requiring multiple sequential shipments that exceed the migration deadline. This option tempts because Snowball Edge is designed for large offline data transfers over slow or unavailable networks, and would be correct if the Direct Connect bandwidth were insufficient or unavailable.
- ✗
Use S3 Transfer Acceleration to speed up transfers over the internet.
Why it's wrong here
Transfer Acceleration optimizes internet paths but still limited by the 1 Gbps Direct Connect; not enough for 500 TB in 30 days.
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
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