Which S3 Storage Class Meets Minute Retrieval and 7-Year Retention Cost-Effectively?
A developer is deploying a company's application to Amazon EC2 instances. The application generates gigabytes of data files each day. The files are rarely accessed, but the files must be available to the application's users within minutes of a request during the first year of storage. The company must retain the files for 7 years. How can the developer implement the application to meet these requirements MOST cost-effectively?
Community Votes
100% of anonymous learners picked answer A. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.
Community Insight
This question tests two principles: matching retrieval latency to the right S3 storage class and using lifecycle policies to lower costs over long retention periods — the trap is choosing Standard storage for the first year.
The correct answer is to store files in S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval and transition to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after one year, making it ideal for rarely accessed data with millisecond retrieval needs and long-term retention. Community consensus and exam votes unanimously support Option A.
Choosing Option B (S3 Standard then Glacier Flexible Retrieval) is a common mistake because it seems to satisfy the one-year retrieval requirement, but it ignores that S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval is cheaper for infrequent access and still provides the same millisecond retrieval speed.
Community Discussion (5 comments)
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Expert Analysis
Why the Answer Is Correct
Option A correctly pairs S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval with a lifecycle transition to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after one year. Glacier Instant Retrieval is designed for rarely accessed data that still needs retrieval in milliseconds, so it satisfies the "within minutes" requirement for the first year at a lower storage cost than S3 Standard. After the first year, the lifecycle policy automatically moves the data to Deep Archive, the lowest-cost storage class, meeting the 7-year retention requirement cost-effectively. This directly addresses the access pattern and cost optimization goals.Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Option B keeps files in S3 Standard during the first year, which is more expensive for gigabytes of rarely accessed data, then transitions to Glacier Flexible Retrieval where retrieval can take minutes to hours. Option C uses EBS snapshots, which are block-level backups not designed for individual file access and result in higher costs and operational overhead. Option D uses EFS with Standard-IA, which still costs more than Glacier Instant Retrieval and does not provide a deep archive tier for the 7-year retention. Only Option A optimizes both retrieval time and long-term cost.Community Comment Notes
The community is unanimous: all voters selected Option A. One comment linked directly to the S3 storage classes documentation, confirming the characteristics of each storage class. Another comment reminded readers that Glacier is built for long-term storage, reinforcing why the lifecycle transition to Deep Archive is the correct cost-saving step. No votes or comments supported any other option, indicating a clear consensus in favor of the Glacier Instant Retrieval plus Deep Archive strategy.Official Reference
Exam Strategy
When evaluating S3 storage classes, first identify the retrieval latency requirement and the frequency of access. For data that is rarely accessed but must be immediately available, choose Glacier Instant Retrieval, then use an S3 Lifecycle policy to transition to Deep Archive as soon as long retrieval times become acceptable.
Related Analysis
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