Orchestrating AWS Lambda and Glue with Least Overhead

Orchestrate data pipelines.

Answer Correct answer: A — Use an AWS Step Functions workflow to orchestrate the Lambda function and AWS Glue job with no infrastructure management.

A data engineer must orchestrate a data pipeline that consists of one AWS Lambda function and one AWS Glue job. The solution must integrate with AWS services. Which solution will meet these requirements with the LEAST management overhead?

Use an AWS Step Functions workflow that includes a state machine. Configure the state machine to run the Lambda function and then the AWS Glue job. Correct Answer
Use an Apache Airflow workflow that is deployed on an Amazon EC2 instance. Define a directed acyclic graph (DAG) in which the first task is to call the Lambda function and the second task is to call the AWS Glue job.
Use an AWS Glue workflow to run the Lambda function and then the AWS Glue job.
Use an Apache Airflow workflow that is deployed on Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (Amazon EKS). Define a directed acyclic graph (DAG) in which the first task is to call the Lambda function and the second task is to call the AWS Glue job.

Community Votes

100%

100% of anonymous learners picked answer A. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.

Community Insight

The core trap is choosing self-managed tools like Airflow on EC2/EKS or assuming Glue can natively trigger Lambda without external orchestration.

This question tests the selection of the optimal orchestration service for mixed AWS workloads. Step Functions provides a serverless, managed workflow to coordinate Lambda and Glue with minimal operational overhead.

Candidates often select C (AWS Glue workflow) believing it handles all AWS tasks, but Glue workflows are designed specifically for Glue jobs and Data Catalogs, not Lambda functions.

Community Discussion (6 comments)

pypelyncar 👍 6 Selected: A

Step Functions is a managed service for building serverless workflows. You define a state machine that orchestrates the execution sequence. This eliminates the need to manage and maintain your own workflow orchestration server like Airflow.

hcong 👍 3 Selected: C

AWS Glue is a fully managed ETL (extract, transform, load) service that makes it easy to orchestrate data pipelines. Using the AWS Glue workflow to run Lambda functions and glue jobs is the easiest and least expensive option because it's a fully managed service that requires no additional workflow tools or infrastructure to configure and manage. Other options require additional tools or resources to configure and manage, and are therefore more expensive to manage.

tgv 👍 2 Selected: A

Step Functions can handle both Lambda and Glue in this scenario, making it the best choice.

hnk 👍 4 Selected: A

B and D require additional effort C Glue workflows do not have a direct integration with lambda hence the best choice is A

FuriouZ 👍 3 Selected: A

Key word orchestrating is most likely step functions

rralucard_ 👍 4 Selected: A

Option A, using AWS Step Functions, is the best solution to meet the requirement with the least management overhead. Step Functions is designed for easy integration with AWS services like Lambda and Glue, providing a managed, low-code approach to orchestrate workflows. This allows for a more straightforward setup and less ongoing management compared to the other options.

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Expert Analysis

Why the Answer Is Correct

AWS Step Functions is the ideal choice because it is a fully managed serverless orchestration service designed to coordinate components of distributed applications using visual workflows. It has native integration with both AWS Lambda and AWS Glue, allowing you to define a state machine that triggers the Lambda function and then the Glue job without provisioning any underlying infrastructure. This approach directly satisfies the requirement for 'least management overhead' by eliminating the need to manage servers, scaling, or high availability.

Why the Other Options Are Wrong

Options B and D involve deploying Apache Airflow on EC2 or EKS. While Airflow is powerful, managing the underlying compute resources (EC2 instances or Kubernetes clusters) introduces significant operational overhead for patching, scaling, and maintenance, violating the 'least management' constraint. Option C suggests using an AWS Glue workflow; however, Glue Workflows are strictly limited to orchestrating AWS Glue jobs, crawlers, and triggers. They do not support invoking AWS Lambda functions as steps in the workflow, making this option technically invalid for the stated requirements.

Community Comment Notes

The community consensus strongly favors Option A, with users noting that Step Functions is the standard 'managed service' for building serverless workflows. Comments highlight that Airflow requires additional effort to maintain infrastructure, while others correctly point out that Glue workflows lack direct integration with Lambda. As one user noted, "Step Functions is a managed service... This eliminates the need to manage and maintain your own workflow orchestration server." Another emphasized that "Glue workflows do not have a direct integration with lambda," confirming the technical limitation of Option C.

Exam Strategy

Always prioritize fully managed, serverless orchestration services (like Step Functions) when the exam asks for 'least management overhead' or 'serverless' solutions involving multiple AWS services.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can AWS Glue Workflow run Lambda functions?

No, AWS Glue Workflows only support Glue jobs, crawlers, and triggers. They cannot invoke Lambda functions.

Is Airflow better than Step Functions for AWS data pipelines?

Airflow is more flexible but requires managing infrastructure (EC2/EKS). Step Functions is fully managed and offers less overhead for simple AWS-native workflows.

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