DA0-002 Data Acquisition and Preparation Practice Question
A research firm is acquiring data from public government databases via API. The API rate limits at 100 requests per minute. They need to download 10,000 records, but each request returns a maximum of 100 records. What is the most efficient approach to ensure complete acquisition without being blocked?
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 a retry logic with exponential backoff and pagination
Pagination with retry logic using exponential backoff allows the firm to send requests in a controlled manner, respecting the rate limit and handling potential failures. Sending all requests in parallel would likely exceed the rate limit and cause blocking. Downloading one record per second is too slow. Requesting a data dump via email is inefficient and may not be supported.
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 a retry logic with exponential backoff and pagination
Why this is correct
Pagination splits the 10,000 records into 100 requests of 100 records each, satisfying the API's 100-records-per-request cap. Exponential backoff handles the 100-requests-per-minute rate limit by spacing retries after HTTP 429 responses, preventing blocks while ensuring every record is retrieved.
- ✗
Request a data dump from the government via email
Why it's wrong here
Emailing the government for a bulk dump introduces manual negotiation, unpredictable turnaround and no guaranteed format or completeness, so it cannot ensure timely acquisition. It is tempting when rate limits appear obstructive, but it is correct only where no API or bulk-export endpoint exists.
- ✗
Download one record per second
Why it's wrong here
One record per second yields 60 records per minute, so 10,000 records take roughly 167 minutes and the API's 100-request allowance is wasted. Pacing suits latency-sensitive polling; here the efficient approach is batching 100 records per request within the rate limit.
- ✗
Send all requests simultaneously in parallel
Why it's wrong here
Firing 100 concurrent requests breaches the 100-per-minute cap almost instantly, triggering HTTP 429 throttling and incomplete downloads. Parallelism suits latency-bound, high-quota endpoints. Here the limit demands client-side pacing, so sequential or rate-limited batching with retry and backoff is required to acquire all 10,000 records.
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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.