AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03) — Question 942

A company stores user data in AWS. The data is used continuously with peak usage during business hours. Access patterns vary, with some data not being used for months at a time. A solutions architect must choose a cost-effective solution that maintains the highest level of durability while maintaining high availability.

Which storage solution meets these requirements?

Answer options

• A. Amazon S3 Standard
• B. Amazon S3 Intelligent-Tiering
• C. Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive
• D. Amazon S3 One Zone-Infrequent Access (S3 One Zone-IA)

Correct answer: B

Explanation

Amazon S3 Intelligent-Tiering is the ideal choice because it automatically optimizes costs by moving data between access tiers when access patterns change, without retrieval fees or operational overhead. Amazon S3 Standard would be too costly for data left untouched for months, and Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive does not offer the immediate retrieval required for high availability. Amazon S3 One Zone-IA is not suitable because storing data in a single Availability Zone does not provide the highest level of durability against physical disasters.