Most Cost-Effective S3 Storage Class for Mixed Access Patterns
A cloud engineer wants to store data in Amazon S3. The engineer will access some of the data yearly and some of the data daily. Which S3 storage class will meet these requirements MOST cost-effectively?
Community Votes
100% of anonymous learners picked answer D. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.
Community Insight
Tests the ability to match access frequency requirements with S3 storage classes, specifically highlighting the trap of choosing low-cost archival tiers for frequently accessed data.
Determines the optimal Amazon S3 storage class for data with mixed access frequencies (daily vs. yearly) to minimize costs. The analysis confirms that Intelligent-Tiering automatically optimizes costs based on usage patterns.
Choosing S3 Glacier Deep Archive is a common mistake because it is the cheapest option, but it has high retrieval times and costs that make it unsuitable for daily access.
Community Discussion (3 comments)
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Expert Analysis
Why the Answer Is Correct
S3 Intelligent-Tiering is designed for data with unknown or unpredictable access patterns. It automatically moves objects between frequent and infrequent access tiers without performance impact or extra fees. Since the engineer accesses some data daily (frequent) and some yearly (infrequent), this service dynamically optimizes costs for both subsets.Why the Other Options Are Wrong
S3 Standard is too expensive for yearly data. S3 One Zone-IA lacks durability across multiple AZs and still incurs higher costs than IA tiers for the yearly portion if not managed manually. S3 Glacier Deep Archive requires minutes to hours for retrieval, making it impossible for daily access needs.Community Comment Notes
The community overwhelmingly voted for D, noting that 'Unknown access patterns' drive the choice toward Intelligent-Tiering. One user suggested C, but failed to account for the daily access requirement which makes IA less optimal than auto-tiering for mixed workloads.Official Reference
Exam Strategy
Always check access frequency first. If patterns are known and static, choose the specific tier (e.g., IA, Glacier). If patterns vary or are unknown, Intelligent-Tiering is usually the most cost-effective automated solution.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why isn't S3 One Zone-IA better for yearly data?
One Zone-IA is cheaper but lacks multi-AZ durability. Also, it doesn't auto-tier for the daily-accessed subset, making Intelligent-Tiering more efficient overall.
Can I use Glacier Deep Archive for the yearly part?
No, you cannot mix tiers within a single object easily. Intelligent-Tiering handles the split automatically, whereas Glacier would block daily access.
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