AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C02) — Question 538

A company receives data from millions of users totaling about 1 ׀¢׀’ each day. The company provides its users with usage reports going back 12 months. All usage data must be stored for at least 5 years to comply with regulatory and auditing requirements.
Which storage solution is MOST cost-effective?

Answer options

• A. Store the data in Amazon S3 Standard. Set a lifecycle rule to transition the data to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 1 year. Set a lifecycle rule to delete the data after 5 years.
• B. Store the data in Amazon S3 One Zone-Infrequent Access (S3 One Zone-IA). Set a lifecycle rule to transition the data to S3 Glacier after 1 year. Set the lifecycle rule to delete the data after 5 years.
• C. Store the data in Amazon S3 Standard. Set a lifecycle rule to transition the data to S3 Standard-Infrequent Access (S3 Standard-IA) after 1 year. Set a lifecycle rule to delete the data after 5 years.
• D. Store the data in Amazon S3 Standard. Set a lifecycle rule to transition the data to S3 One Zone-Infrequent Access (S3 One Zone-IA) after 1 year. Set a lifecycle rule to delete the data after 5 years.

Correct answer: A

Explanation

Amazon S3 Standard is the best choice for the first 12 months because users require frequent access to their usage reports during this period. After one year, the data is only kept for compliance and auditing, making S3 Glacier Deep Archive the most cost-effective storage class for the remaining 4 years of retention. Other options are less cost-effective because S3 Standard-IA, S3 One Zone-IA, and standard S3 Glacier have higher storage costs compared to S3 Glacier Deep Archive.