Optimizing S3 Storage for Streaming Demand | SAA-C03

SAA-C03 By islever Editorial Last updated

Design cost-optimized storage solutions.

Short answer

B Store newer movie video files in S3 Standard and older movie video files in S3 Standard-Infrequent Access (S3 Standard-IA).

Question

A media company stores movies in Amazon S3. Each movie is stored in a single video file that ranges from 1 GB to 10 GB in size. The company must be able to provide the streaming content of a movie within 5 minutes of a user purchase. There is higher demand for movies that are less than 20 years old than for movies that are more than 20 years old. The company wants to minimize hosting service costs based on demand. Which solution will meet these requirements?
  1. Store all media content in Amazon S3. Use S3 Lifecycle policies to move media data into the Infrequent Access tier when the demand for a movie decreases.
  2. Store newer movie video files in S3 Standard. Store older movie video files in S3 Standard-infrequent Access (S3 Standard-IA). When a user orders an older movie, retrieve the video file by using standard retrieval. Correct Answer
  3. Store newer movie video files in S3 Intelligent-Tiering. Store older movie video files in S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval. When a user orders an older movie, retrieve the video file by using expedited retrieval.
  4. Store newer movie video files in S3 Standard. Store older movie video files in S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval. When a user orders an older movie, retrieve the video file by using bulk retrieval.

Key Takeaways

The core trap is assuming Glacier Expedited Retrieval guarantees sub-5-minute access for large files; AWS documentation restricts this guarantee to objects under 250 MB.

This question evaluates cost-optimized storage design by balancing retrieval speed against access frequency. The correct solution leverages S3 Standard-IA to ensure rapid data availability for older, less-frequently accessed movies while minimizing storage costs.

Common mistake: Many candidates choose C (Glacier) because they focus on the 'less demand' aspect and overlook the specific size constraints of Expedited Retrieval, which fails for 1–10 GB files within the required timeframe.

Expert Analysis

Why the Answer Is Correct

Option B is the only choice that reliably meets the 5-minute streaming requirement for all file sizes while optimizing for lower demand. S3 Standard-IA provides the same low-latency performance as S3 Standard but at a reduced storage cost, making it ideal for data that is accessed infrequently but requires immediate availability when needed.

Why the Other Options Are Wrong

Option A relies on Lifecycle policies based on demand, which cannot be dynamically configured per movie title or popularity trend. Option C uses Glacier Flexible Retrieval with Expedited Retrieval, which AWS explicitly limits to objects up to 250 MB; since the videos are 1–10 GB, this option will not meet the 5-minute SLA. Option D uses Bulk Retrieval, which takes hours, violating the strict time constraint.

Community Comment Notes

Community members like Freddie26 and NSA_Poker correctly identified that Expedited Retrieval has a 250 MB size limit, disqualifying Option C for large video files. User osmk highlighted that S3 Standard-IA offers the necessary throughput for rapid access. Some users initially favored Intelligent-Tiering or Glacier due to cost assumptions but were corrected by the retrieval latency facts.

Official Reference

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

Exam Strategy

Always check the object size against the service's specific limits before selecting a storage class. If a requirement specifies a tight time window (e.g., minutes) and the objects are large, avoid archival tiers that have size restrictions on their fastest retrieval modes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why can't we use Glacier Expedited Retrieval for 10GB files?

Expedited Retrieval is strictly limited to objects up to 250 MB. For larger objects, even Expedited mode cannot guarantee the 1-5 minute retrieval window.

Is S3 Standard-IA cheaper than Glacier for infrequent data?

Glacier is cheaper for storage but incurs high retrieval costs and latency. Standard-IA balances cost and performance for data that needs instant access when requested.

More SAA-C03 FAQ →

Community Votes

B
60%
C
40%

60% of anonymous learners picked answer B. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.

Discussion 24 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 24

  1. Freddie26 👍 16
    Technically, expedited retrieval for files is not guaranteed within 1-5 minutes for files larger than 250 MB+. See https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/restoring-objects-retrieval-options.html.
  2. osmk 👍 12 Answered B
    S3 Standard-IA is for data that is accessed less frequently, but requires rapid access when needed. S3 Standard-IA offers the high durability, high throughput, and low latency of S3 Standard, with a low per GB storage price and per GB retrieval chargehttps://aws.amazon.com/s3/storage-classes/
  3. EdricHoang 👍 8 Answered B
    "Expedited Retrieval, you can retrieve small amounts of data (up to 250 MB per request) within 1-5 minutes." Cannot C
  4. NSA_Poker 👍 6 Answered B
    (A) is eliminated. Demand metric is popularly based & cannot be configured with Lifecycle policies. Ex: an old movie can have resurgent demand 20 years after it's sequel is released. (C) is eliminated. Expedited retrieval is for all but the largest archived objects (250 MB+). (D) is eliminated. Bulk retrieval takes hours. (B) is more expensive than S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval but it's the only one that works.
  5. haci 👍 5 Answered C
    Expedited retrievals is typically made available within 1–5 minutes. Each unit of capacity provides that at least three Expedited retrievals can be performed every 5 minutes and provides up to 150 megabytes per second (MBps) of retrieval throughput. There are some limitations but the bottom line is 5 minutes and I believe this leads us to Expedited retrievals. https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazonglacier/latest/dev/downloading-an-archive-two-steps.html#api-downloading-an-archive-two-steps-retrieval-expedited-capacity
Show 19 more comments
  1. dkw2342 👍 4
    Option B makes the most sense. Why not option C: 1. This is not an archival use case, the company runs a video streaming service, so objects are still accessed regularly. Accelerated Retrieval is designed for "occasional urgent requests for a subset of archives". 2. The 5 minute timeframe does not apply to items of 250+ MB. 3. Even if the timeframe were valid, it's not guaranteed ("typically") 4. Expedited retrieval is expensive if used frequently ($10.00 per 1,000 requests) - depending on access patterns, this may more than offset the savings in storage costs. https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/restoring-objects-retrieval-options.html
  2. LeonSauveterre 👍 3 Answered B
    A - Cost optimization for > 20-yr-old files is insufficient. B - Good. Although, S3 Standard-IA is still relatively expensive compared to archival classes. C - Glacier Flexible Retrieval may not consistently meet the 5-minute streaming requirement. Could be minutes, could be hours. D - Bulk retrieval typically takes hours, let alone 5 minutes.
  3. jaswantn 👍 3 Answered A
    option A is most correct option B..for moving files to standard IA , it needs to stay in S3 standard for minimum 30 days. option C..expedited retrieval does not necessarily guarantee big size file retrieval in <=5 minutes. option D... is also wrong as it would take time in hours. sam
  4. mohammadthainat 👍 3 Answered C
    All old files should be in--> Glacier Flexible Retrieval takes (1-5 minutes) to retrieve the file. New files should not stay in Standard Storage class forever --> Intelligent-Tiering
  5. JackyCCK 👍 2
    I don't think C is an option, S3 Glacier Flexible takes hour to retrieve the data. Option A is actually valid, but the way the option A describe it does not consider "demand patterns based on time" So it should be B
  6. lenotc 👍 2 Answered C
    C -> Expedited Retrievals (1-5 minutes) - Intelligent-Tiering cost (cost effective) D -> Bulk retrievals (5-12 hours) A -> does not consider demand patterns B -> It's ok, but "C" is more good fit to access patterns
  7. Drew3000 👍 2 Answered A
    There is something I like about option A. It's the only one that deals with what happens with a movie that goes from "new" to "old". With other options, new movies will be new forever.
  8. Sergiuss95 👍 2 Answered C
    Expedited 1-5min and for new files intelligent tier is a good option
  9. alawada 👍 2 Answered C
    Expedited Retrievals (1-5 minutes) - Intelligent-Tiering cost
  10. bujuman 👍 1 Answered C
    AS the pattern is uncertain- Customer could not, in advance, segregate data, the pattern will be determined on the fly - and with regard of the following S3 feature: S3 Intelligent-Tiering is an additional storage class that provides flexibility for data with unknown or changing access patterns. It automates the movement of your objects between storage classes to optimize cost. C will be the most cost effective for this use case.
  11. FlyingHawk 👍 1 Answered B
    S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval cannot grant the retrieval within 5 minutes even with expedited retrieval. Intellgent-Tiering is for unknow pattern, however, we already know higher demand for movies that are less than 20 years old than for movies that are more than 20 years old.
  12. tch 👍 1 Answered C
    S3 Standard-infrequent Access (S3 Standard-IA) do not come with retrieval options?? https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/restoring-objects-retrieval-options.html
  13. [Removed] 👍 1 Answered C
    Expedited Retrievals (1-5 minutes) Intelligent-Tiering cost
  14. zdi561 👍 1 Answered C
    Glacier flex expedited retrieval takes 1-5 min.
  15. jaswantn 👍 3
    option B
  16. Abdullah2004 👍 2
    A is most correct ✅
  17. Arad 👍 1 Answered C
    C is the correct answer.
  18. xBUGx 👍 1 Answered C
    I go with C
  19. TruthWS 👍 1
    Option C

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