AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) — Question 152

A company sells ringtones created from clips of popular songs. The files containing the ringtones are stored in Amazon S3 Standard and are at least 128 KB in size. The company has millions of files, but downloads are infrequent for ringtones older than 90 days. The company needs to save money on storage while keeping the most accessed files readily available for its users.
Which action should the company take to meet these requirements MOST cost-effectively?

Answer options

• A. Configure S3 Standard-Infrequent Access (S3 Standard-IA) storage for the initial storage tier of the objects.
• B. Move the files to S3 Intelligent-Tiering and configure it to move objects to a less expensive storage tier after 90 days.
• C. Configure S3 inventory to manage objects and move them to S3 Standard-Infrequent Access (S3 Standard-1A) after 90 days.
• D. Implement an S3 Lifecycle policy that moves the objects from S3 Standard to S3 Standard-Infrequent Access (S3 Standard-1A) after 90 days.

Correct answer: D

Explanation

The correct answer is D because implementing an S3 Lifecycle policy allows for automatic transition of objects to a lower-cost storage tier after 90 days of inactivity, which directly addresses the company's need to save on storage costs. Options A and C do not provide an automated solution for transitioning old files, while option B uses Intelligent-Tiering, which may not be as cost-effective for this specific use case since it incurs additional monitoring fees.