AWS Certified Big Data – Specialty — Question 60

An enterprise customer is migrating to Redshift and is considering using dense storage nodes in its Redshift cluster. The customer wants to migrate 50 TB of data. The customers query patterns involve performing many joins with thousands of rows.
The customer needs to know how many nodes are needed in its target Redshift cluster. The customer has a limited budget and needs to avoid performing tests unless absolutely needed.
Which approach should this customer use?

Answer options

• A. Start with many small nodes.
• B. Start with fewer large nodes.
• C. Have two separate clusters with a mix of a small and large nodes.
• D. Insist on performing multiple tests to determine the optimal configuration.

Correct answer: A

Explanation

Starting with many small nodes allows the customer to better handle the complex query patterns involving multiple joins, as Redshift can distribute the workload across more nodes. Conversely, starting with fewer large nodes may not effectively optimize for these join operations, and managing two separate clusters could complicate the setup without clear benefits. Insisting on multiple tests is unnecessary given the constraints and could lead to increased costs.