AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) — Question 591

A company stores a large volume of image files in an Amazon S3 bucket. The images need to be readily available for the first 180 days. The images are infrequently accessed for the next 180 days. After 360 days, the images need to be archived but must be available instantly upon request. After 5 years, only auditors can access the images. The auditors must be able to retrieve the images within 12 hours. The images cannot be lost during this process.

A developer will use S3 Standard storage for the first 180 days. The developer needs to configure an S3 Lifecycle rule.

Which solution will meet these requirements MOST cost-effectively?

Answer options

• A. Transition the objects to S3 One Zone-Infrequent Access (S3 One Zone-IA) after 180 days. S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval after 360 days, and S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 5 years.
• B. Transition the objects to S3 One Zone-Infrequent Access (S3 One Zone-IA) after 180 days. S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval after 360 days, and S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 5 years.
• C. Transition the objects to S3 Standard-Infrequent Access (S3 Standard-IA) after 180 days, S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval after 360 days, and S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 5 years.
• D. Transition the objects to S3 Standard-Infrequent Access (S3 Standard-IA) after 180 days, S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval after 360 days, and S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 5 years.

Correct answer: C

Explanation

S3 Standard-IA is required over S3 One Zone-IA because the images cannot be lost, and One Zone-IA does not offer multi-AZ redundancy. After 360 days, S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval is the only archive class that supports instant access upon request. Finally, S3 Glacier Deep Archive is the most cost-effective choice for the 5-year retention period because its standard retrieval option easily meets the 12-hour retrieval SLA for auditors.