AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) — Question 47

A company stores call transcript files on a monthly basis. Users access the files randomly within 1 year of the call, but users access the files infrequently after 1 year. The company wants to optimize its solution by giving users the ability to query and retrieve files that are less than 1-year-old as quickly as possible. A delay in retrieving older files is acceptable.
Which solution will meet these requirements MOST cost-effectively?

Answer options

• A. Store individual files with tags in Amazon S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval. Query the tags to retrieve the files from S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval.
• B. Store individual files in Amazon S3 Intelligent-Tiering. Use S3 Lifecycle policies to move the files to S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval after 1 year. Query and retrieve the files that are in Amazon S3 by using Amazon Athena. Query and retrieve the files that are in S3 Glacier by using S3 Glacier Select.
• C. Store individual files with tags in Amazon S3 Standard storage. Store search metadata for each archive in Amazon S3 Standard storage. Use S3 Lifecycle policies to move the files to S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval after 1 year. Query and retrieve the files by searching for metadata from Amazon S3.
• D. Store individual files in Amazon S3 Standard storage. Use S3 Lifecycle policies to move the files to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 1 year. Store search metadata in Amazon RDS. Query the files from Amazon RDS. Retrieve the files from S3 Glacier Deep Archive.

Correct answer: B

Explanation

Option B is the most cost-effective solution because it utilizes Amazon S3 Intelligent-Tiering, which optimizes storage costs by automatically moving data between two access tiers when access patterns change. The other options either involve more expensive storage solutions or less efficient retrieval methods, such as relying on S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval or Deep Archive, which do not align with the need for quick access to files under one year old.