A dead-letter queue (DLQ) captures messages that fail processing after a set number of attempts, so they don’t block the main queue and can be inspected or reprocessed later.
The tell
When a scenario mentions messages that keep failing, a “poison message” blocking the queue, or needing to isolate and investigate failures, that’s a DLQ. You set a redrive policy: after N failed receives, the message moves to the DLQ. Improves reliability and debuggability.
Test yourself
Some SQS messages repeatedly fail processing and block the queue. You want to isolate them for later inspection without stalling the rest. What do you configure?
- A larger queue
- A dead-letter queue with a redrive policy
- A FIFO queue
- A longer visibility timeout only
👉 Click to reveal the answer & explanation
Correct answer: B. A dead-letter queue with a redrive policy moves messages that fail after N attempts out of the main queue for isolation and later analysis. A bigger queue (A) doesn’t isolate failures; FIFO (C) is about ordering; a longer visibility timeout (D) just delays retries.
Related topics
Amazon SQS · Amazon SNS · AWS Lambda
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