S3 Lifecycle Policy for Cost-Optimized Storage

SAA-C03 By islever Editorial Last updated

Design cost-optimized storage solutions.

Short answer

A Create an S3 Lifecycle policy to move the files to S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval 30 days after object creation and delete them after 4 years.

Question

A company needs to optimize its Amazon S3 storage costs for an application that generates many files that cannot be recreated. Each file is approximately 5 MB and is stored in Amazon S3 Standard storage. The company must store the files for 4 years before the files can be deleted. The files must be immediately accessible. The files are frequently accessed in the first 30 days of object creation, but they are rarely accessed after the first 30 days. Which solution will meet these requirements MOST cost-effectively?
  1. Create an S3 Lifecycle policy to move the files to S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval 30 days after object creation. Delete the files 4 years after object creation. Correct Answer
  2. Create an S3 Lifecycle policy to move the files to S3 One Zone-Infrequent Access (S3 One Zone-IA) 30 days after object creation. Delete the files 4 years after object creation.
  3. Create an S3 Lifecycle policy to move the files to S3 Standard-Infrequent Access (S3 Standard-IA) 30 days after object creation. Delete the files 4 years after object creation.
  4. Create an S3 Lifecycle policy to move the files to S3 Standard-Infrequent Access (S3 Standard-IA) 30 days after object creation. Move the files to S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval 4 years after object creation.

Key Takeaways

The exam tests the distinction between S3 Standard-IA and S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval, with the common trap being confusion over 'immediate accessibility' versus 'archive storage'.

This question tests selecting the most cost-effective Amazon S3 storage class based on access patterns and retention policies. It establishes that S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval is the optimal choice for data requiring immediate access but infrequent retrieval over long periods.

Common mistake: Many learners choose S3 Standard-IA (C) because they associate it with infrequent access, failing to recognize that Glacier Instant Retrieval offers similar millisecond latency at a significantly lower storage cost.

Expert Analysis

Why the Answer Is Correct

Option A is the correct answer because S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval is designed for archive data that is rarely accessed but requires instantaneous retrieval when needed. The prompt specifies files are rarely accessed after 30 days and must be immediately accessible; Glacier Instant Retrieval provides millisecond access like S3 Standard-IA but with roughly 70% lower storage costs. Since the data is stored for 4 years, the lower price per GB makes it the most cost-effective solution compared to Standard-IA.

Why the Other Options Are Wrong

Option B (One Zone-IA) is incorrect because it does not provide high availability across multiple Availability Zones, risking data loss if a zone fails, which is unsuitable for critical non-recreatable files. Option C (Standard-IA) is more expensive than Glacier Instant Retrieval for long-term storage of rarely accessed data. Option D is incorrect because moving to Glacier Flexible Retrieval adds retrieval fees and latency, violating the 'immediately accessible' requirement, and the lifecycle policy should delete rather than move to another archive tier after the retention period.

Community Comment Notes

Comments show significant debate, with many users initially voting for Standard-IA. One commenter noted that Glacier Instant Retrieval delivers "fastest access to archive storage" with milliseconds latency, validating its suitability for immediate access needs. Another user pointed out that while Glacier Instant Retrieval has a 90-day minimum storage duration, this scenario involves storing data for 4 years, well exceeding that minimum, making the cost savings valid.

Official Reference

https://aws.amazon.com/s3/storage-classes/

This link opens the official vendor documentation in a new tab.

Exam Strategy

Always compare storage classes based on total cost of ownership: storage price + retrieval fee + minimum duration penalty. For data that is rarely accessed but needs instant access, prioritize S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval over S3 Standard-IA if the retention period exceeds the 90-day minimum.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why not use S3 Standard-IA since it also offers immediate access?

While Standard-IA offers immediate access, S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval has a significantly lower storage cost per GB. For data stored for 4 years, the savings from using Glacier Instant Retrieval outweigh any minor differences in retrieval costs.

Does S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval violate the 'immediately accessible' requirement?

No. Unlike standard Glacier or Glacier Deep Archive, S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval provides millisecond access times, meeting the immediate accessibility requirement while offering lower storage prices.

More SAA-C03 FAQ →

Community Votes

A
64%
C
36%

64% of anonymous learners picked answer A. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.

Discussion 18 contributions

Compiled from public community threads and reader submissions, lightly edited for clarity. Handles and vote tallies are shown as recorded, and comments reflect the views of individual contributors.

From public community threads 18

  1. sandordini 👍 13 Answered A
    Although it's not stated what is meant by 'rarely accessed', this scenario would primarily be a candidate for the Glacier Instant Retrieval tier as the storage price would be more than 3 times lower compared to Standard IA. In the specific case of files being more frequently retrieved than quarterly, it can qualify for consideration of Standard IA. Actually, we don't have the required info, so we have to guess what they are thinking.. which is pretty lame, to be honest..
  2. Scheldon 👍 4 Answered C
    AnswerC We cannot choose B because if that one zone will fail, company will not be able to recreate them. We cannot choose D because we do not have to store files after 4y hence we can delete them (cost savings) We cannot choose A - Glacier is less expensive (0,004 per GB) then S3-Standard - IA but is not allowing for instant access which is one of requirements (there is no information that data access shouldn't be accessible immedietly) we have only information that after 30d access to data is less frequently. Hence I think we need to choose S3 Standard - IA (answer C)
  3. FrozenCarrot 👍 4 Answered A
    S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval delivers the fastest access to archive storage, with the same throughput and milliseconds access as the S3 Standard and S3 Standard-IA storage classes. --- https://aws.amazon.com/s3/storage-classes/glacier/instant-retrieval/
  4. MatAlves 👍 3 Answered A
    Instant Retrieval = immediately accessible. Coose the S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval storage class when you need milliseconds access to low cost archive data. https://aws.amazon.com/s3/faqs/?nc=sn&loc=7
  5. scaredSquirrel 👍 3 Answered A
    Glacier Instant Retrieval is much cheaper, and it is intended for archival storage with very low access patterns
Show 13 more comments
  1. Karls 👍 2
    B. Create an S3 Lifecycle policy to move the files to S3 One Zone-Infrequent Access (S3 One Zone-IA) 30 days after object creation. Delete the files 4 years after object creation. This option leverages S3 One Zone-IA, which offers a lower cost compared to S3 Standard-IA, while ensuring that files are immediately accessible during the first 30 days of their creation. Then, after this period, the files are moved to S3 One Zone-IA for less frequent access storage, further reducing costs. Finally, the files are deleted after 4 years, meeting the requirement for long-term retention.
  2. bujuman 👍 2 Answered C
    Requirements: - frequently accessed for 30 days - lower cost Features for S3 Standard-IA: - Infrequently accessed objects - Milliseconds to acces According to me, best option for this use case is C NB: Glacier better suits for lower cost, infrequent access.
  3. Ucy 👍 2 Answered C
    While S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval offers immediate access, it has a minimum storage duration policy, Objects stored in S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval have a minimum storage duration of 90 days.
  4. 345645a 👍 2
    https://aws.amazon.com/es/s3/storage-classes/glacier/instant-retrieval/
  5. LeonSauveterre 👍 1 Answered C
    A - S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval is designed for archival storage where objects are infrequently accessed but still require millisecond retrieval, so yes actually A will work. It's just that Glacier storage costs more than S3 Standard-IA (given that after 30 days, the files are only RARELY accessed), so this is not the most cost-effective option. B - For files that "cannot be recreated," durability is crucial, so single Availability Zone is not OK. C - S3 Standard-IA is optimized for objects accessed less frequently but still requires rapid retrieval and high durability. D - After 4 years, let's just delete those files.
  6. a8a1e0e 👍 1 Answered C
    Option C is correct instead of A because S3 Standard-IA provides lower long-term storage costs with immediate access, whereas S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval has higher retrieval costs, making it less cost-effective for files that may still need to be accessed occasionally.
  7. tch 👍 1 Answered A
    B is out! store the files for 4 years before the files can be deleted - for long term we should use S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval. files are frequently accessed in the first 30 days of object creation, it actually store in Amazon S3 Standard storage
  8. dfgdsfgfdgreg 👍 1 Answered A
    Glacier is much cheaper for storage than standard. The catch is you have to pay for 90 days of storage no matter what, even if the object is deleted. Here we will store data for 4 years so glacier is the cheapest solution.
  9. th1002 👍 1 Answered C
    why do we need one zone, glacier instant for 30 days ? or why do we need to move to glacier after 4 years ? I think C is correct
  10. EdricHoang 👍 1 Answered B
    cost effective -> OneZone IA "The files must be immediately accessible" -> cannot be Glacier
  11. Lin878 👍 1 Answered C
    "are rarely accessed after the first 30 days" - not often I will go with "C".
  12. Mayank0502 👍 1 Answered C
    this option has most durability
  13. sheilawu 👍 1 Answered C
    mmediately accessible =>C

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