PAS-C01 Migration Practice Question
An organization is migrating a large data lake (500 TB) from on-premises HDFS to Amazon S3. The migration must be completed within 3 weeks. The network bandwidth between on-premises and AWS is 1 Gbps. What is the MOST efficient migration approach?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates underestimate the time required for network-based transfers over limited bandwidth and overestimate the effectiveness of acceleration technologies like S3 Transfer Acceleration or Direct Connect, failing to recognize that physical shipping is the only viable option for hundreds of terabytes within a strict 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
✓
Use multiple AWS Snowball Edge devices to transfer the data in parallel.
Given the 500 TB data volume and a 3-week deadline, the 1 Gbps network bandwidth yields a theoretical maximum transfer of only ~340 TB in 3 weeks (1 Gbps * 21 days * 86400 seconds / 8 bits per byte), which is insufficient. AWS Snowball Edge devices provide a petabyte-scale, offline data transfer solution that bypasses network constraints entirely, allowing parallel transfers to meet the timeline. This is the most efficient approach because it avoids network bottlenecks and leverages physical shipping for massive datasets.
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 the existing internet connection.
Why it's wrong here
1 Gbps bandwidth would take too long (approx 48 days) and DataSync is not optimized for such large volumes.
- ✗
Order a dedicated AWS Direct Connect circuit at 10 Gbps and use AWS DataSync.
Why it's wrong here
Direct Connect setup takes weeks and is expensive; DataSync may still be slower than Snowball for this volume.
- ✗
Use Amazon S3 Transfer Acceleration to speed up the transfer over the internet.
Why it's wrong here
Transfer Acceleration improves speed but not enough to transfer 500 TB in 3 weeks over 1 Gbps.
- ✓
Use multiple AWS Snowball Edge devices to transfer the data in parallel.
Why this is correct
Snowball Edge provides high-capacity offline storage and multiple devices can be used concurrently, meeting the deadline.
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 PAS-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 PAS-C01 exam.