DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
A company is storing large amounts of log data in Amazon S3. The data is accessed frequently for the first 30 days, then rarely after that. The company wants to automatically transition the data to a lower-cost storage class after 30 days. Which S3 feature should the data engineer use?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse S3 Intelligent-Tiering's automatic cost optimization with the ability to enforce a fixed time-based transition, when in fact Intelligent-Tiering monitors access patterns and may not align with a strict 30-day policy.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
S3 Lifecycle policies
S3 Lifecycle policies allow you to define rules that automatically transition objects between storage classes based on age or other criteria. In this scenario, a lifecycle rule can be configured to transition objects from S3 Standard to a lower-cost class like S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 30 days, directly meeting the requirement for automated cost optimization.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
S3 Intelligent-Tiering
Why it's wrong here
Automatically optimizes cost but may not be as cost-effective for predictable transitions.
- ✓
S3 Lifecycle policies
Why this is correct
Lifecycle policies can transition objects after a specified number of days.
- ✗
S3 Cross-Region Replication
Why it's wrong here
Replicates data, doesn't change storage class.
- ✗
S3 Batch Operations
Why it's wrong here
For bulk actions, not automatic scheduling.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
Go deeper
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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