AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) — Question 315

A solutions architect needs to optimize storage costs. The solutions architect must identify any Amazon S3 buckets that are no longer being accessed or are rarely accessed.

Which solution will accomplish this goal with the LEAST operational overhead?

Answer options

• A. Analyze bucket access patterns by using the S3 Storage Lens dashboard for advanced activity metrics.
• B. Analyze bucket access patterns by using the S3 dashboard in the AWS Management Console.
• C. Turn on the Amazon CloudWatch BucketSizeBytes metric for buckets. Analyze bucket access patterns by using the metrics data with Amazon Athena.
• D. Turn on AWS CloudTrail for S3 object monitoring. Analyze bucket access patterns by using CloudTrail logs that are integrated with Amazon CloudWatch Logs.

Correct answer: A

Explanation

Amazon S3 Storage Lens provides a centralized dashboard with advanced activity metrics that automatically analyze access patterns across all buckets with minimal configuration, making it the option with the least operational overhead. The standard S3 console dashboard does not provide detailed activity metrics, and the BucketSizeBytes metric in CloudWatch only measures storage volume rather than access frequency. Although CloudTrail object logging can track access, setting it up alongside CloudWatch Logs requires significant configuration, data processing, and incurs high additional costs.