Migrating 80 Offices' 1 PB Data to S3 Within 4 Weeks?

SAA-C03 By islever Editorial Last updated

Design cost-optimized storage solutions.

Short answer

B Use multiple AWS Snowball Edge storage-optimized devices to transfer each office's 1 PB to Amazon S3 within the 4-week window.

Question

A data analytics company has 80 offices that are distributed globally. Each office hosts 1 PB of data and has between 1 and 2 Gbps of internet bandwidth. The company needs to perform a one-time migration of a large amount of data from its offices to Amazon S3. The company must complete the migration within 4 weeks. Which solution will meet these requirements MOST cost-effectively?
  1. Establish a new 10 Gbps AWS Direct Connect connection to each office. Transfer the data to Amazon S3.
  2. Use multiple AWS Snowball Edge storage-optimized devices to store and transfer the data to Amazon S3. Correct Answer
  3. Use an AWS Snowmobile to store and transfer the data to Amazon S3.
  4. Set up an AWS Storage Gateway Volume Gateway to transfer the data to Amazon S3.

Key Takeaways

Tests choosing the right offline data-transfer service for a distributed multi-site migration versus a single-site mega-migration, with the trap of assuming Snowmobile fits 80 separate 1 PB offices.

A data analytics company needs to move 1 PB from each of 80 globally distributed offices into Amazon S3 within four weeks. The most cost-effective answer is multiple AWS Snowball Edge storage-optimized devices (B), because Snowball scales across distributed sites while Snowmobile is retired and designed for single-site 10 PB+ moves.

Common mistake: Picking AWS Snowmobile (C) because the total data volume is huge (~80 PB), ignoring that Snowmobile is meant for a single location and has been retired by AWS.

Expert Analysis

Why the Answer Is Correct

AWS Snowball Edge Storage Optimized devices are built for exactly this pattern: large offline transfers from many locations where network bandwidth is limited. Each Snowball Edge Storage Optimized device provides roughly 80 TB of usable capacity, so an office with 1 PB would need about 13 devices, and 80 offices means a distributed fleet of Snowball Edge devices shipped in parallel. AWS guidance specifically recommends Snowball over Snowmobile for datasets under 10 PB per location or distributed across multiple locations. The four-week deadline is achievable by ordering and shipping devices concurrently across offices, and the cost is far lower than provisioning 80 high-speed network circuits. The fact that Snowmobile was discontinued in March 2024 further confirms B as the only viable offline option.

Why the Other Options Are Wrong

Option A requires establishing a new 10 Gbps AWS Direct Connect connection to each of 80 offices, which is prohibitively expensive, slow to provision, and still needs last-mile connectivity from each office to the Direct Connect point of presence. Option C uses AWS Snowmobile, but Snowmobile is designed for 10 PB or more stored in one location, requires a high-speed backbone with hundreds of Gbps of spare throughput, and AWS stopped offering the service, so it cannot serve 80 geographically separate 1 PB offices. Option D uses AWS Storage Gateway Volume Gateway, which transfers data over the existing internet connection; at 1–2 Gbps per office, moving 1 PB within four weeks is mathematically impossible, and Volume Gateway is a hybrid storage solution, not an offline bulk migration tool.

Community Comment Notes

As mestule noted, the company "has 80 offices that are distributed globally," which is the key detail favoring Snowball over Snowmobile. buzzinmumbai pointed out that "AWS has stopped offering snowmobile as a service" as of March 2024, reinforcing B. MatAlves explained that Snowmobile is ideal for 10 PB+ stored in one location while Snowball is ideal for datasets distributed across multiple locations. ccceb01 added a cost argument that many Snowball devices are still cheaper than one Snowmobile. aditianand asked why D is not valid, but the bandwidth math at 1–2 Gbps per office over four weeks cannot move 1 PB. Tanidanindo, Andy_09, and Naveena_Devanga argued for C based on total volume, but they missed the single-location requirement and Snowmobile's retirement.

Official Reference

These links open the official vendor documentation in a new tab.

Exam Strategy

When a question gives many distributed sites plus a tight deadline, eliminate single-site services like Snowmobile and internet-based gateways first, then confirm that Snowball Edge can be parallelized across every office. Check whether the scenario mentions one location versus many locations, because that distinction usually decides between Snowball and Snowmobile.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is AWS Snowmobile wrong for 80 globally distributed offices?

Snowmobile is designed for 10 PB or more in a single location and was retired by AWS in March 2024, so it cannot serve 80 separate 1 PB sites cost-effectively.

Can AWS Storage Gateway Volume Gateway move 1 PB per office in 4 weeks?

No; at 1–2 Gbps per office, internet transfer cannot move 1 PB within four weeks, and Volume Gateway is not an offline bulk migration tool.

More SAA-C03 FAQ →

Community Votes

B
100%

100% of anonymous learners picked answer B. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.

Discussion 9 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 9

  1. mestule 👍 16 Answered B
    B because too many offices that are geographically separated. "data analytics company has 80 offices that are distributed globally."
  2. buzzinmumbai 👍 3
    As of March 2024 AWS has stopped offering snowmobile as a service .So B is the right answer.Hopefully they don't ask this question :)
  3. MatAlves 👍 2 Answered B
    AWS Snowmobile: ideal for migrating big datasets containing 10PB or more and stored in one location. Snowmobile can help you migrate all of these large datasets at once, but the process requires a high-speed backbone with hundreds of Gb/s of spare throughput. AWS Snowball: ideal for datasets storing less than 10PB or datasets distributed across multiple locations. You can use Snowball to migrate data incrementally—this is a good alternative if you do not have enough bandwidth on the network backbone. https://bluexp.netapp.com/blog/aws-cvo-blg-aws-snowball-vs-snowmobile-data-migration-options-comparedwork backbone.
  4. aditianand 👍 2
    Why not D? Why not AWS storage gateway? With 1Gbps, they can transfer 1.25 GBPS which translates to 2.8 PB in 4 weeks. They need just 1 PB to be transferred
  5. ccceb01 👍 2 Answered B
    10 Snowball price (100TB x 10) still cheaper then 1 Snowmobile price ($4,100 plus additional cost for data transfer)
Show 4 more comments
  1. Andy_09 👍 2
    Option C looks good, as option B would lead to usage of too many snowball devices.
  2. Tanidanindo 👍 2 Answered C
    Too large for snowball devices.
  3. Naveena_Devanga 👍 1
    Option C, An AWS Snowmobile has a maximum storage capacity of 100 petabytes (PB). This is equivalent to the capacity of 1,250 Snowball Edge devices
  4. chefKC 👍 2
    option B

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