Both run Apache Spark for data processing, so the DEA-C01 makes you choose based on how much control and scale you need.
Serverless vs cluster
Glue is serverless ETL — no cluster to manage, best for standard transformation jobs with minimal operations. EMR gives you a configurable cluster — best for very large, customized, or long-running big-data workloads and specific framework versions. “No clusters to manage” → Glue. “Full control / massive custom Spark” → EMR.
Test yourself
A team needs standard, scheduled ETL transformations on S3 data with the least operational overhead and no cluster management. Which service?
- Amazon EMR
- AWS Glue
- Amazon Athena
- Amazon EC2 with Spark
👉 Click to reveal the answer & explanation
Correct answer: B. Glue is serverless ETL — ideal for standard scheduled jobs with no cluster to manage. EMR (A) and self-managed Spark on EC2 (D) add cluster ops; Athena (C) is interactive SQL, not ETL orchestration.
Related topics
AWS Glue · Amazon EMR · Amazon Athena
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