DA0-002 Data Concepts and Environments Practice Question
A company is building a data pipeline to ingest sensor data from IoT devices. The data arrives continuously in small batches and must be processed in real-time for monitoring. Which type of data source best describes this scenario?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse 'real-time' with 'fast batch processing' and incorrectly choose a transactional database, not recognizing that streaming data sources are specifically designed for continuous, unbounded data flows with sub-second latency requirements.
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
✓
Streaming data
B is correct because the scenario describes data arriving continuously in small batches that must be processed in real-time for monitoring. This is the defining characteristic of streaming data, which is typically ingested via technologies like Apache Kafka, Amazon Kinesis, or MQTT brokers, enabling low-latency processing and immediate alerting.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Transactional database
Why it's wrong here
Transactional databases are for OLTP workloads, not real-time streaming ingestion.
- ✓
Streaming data
Why this is correct
IoT sensors produce streaming data that is continuous and requires real-time processing.
- ✗
Web scraping
Why it's wrong here
Web scraping extracts data from websites, not from IoT sensors.
- ✗
Flat file
Why it's wrong here
Flat files are static; they do not support continuous streaming.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 986 original DA0-002 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This DA0-002 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA 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 DA0-002 exam.