DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
A company is using Amazon S3 to store critical data and needs to ensure that objects are automatically transitioned to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 180 days to reduce costs. Which S3 lifecycle action should be configured?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse 'Expiration' (deletion) with 'Transition' (storage class change), or incorrectly apply 'NoncurrentVersionTransition' when the question does not mention versioning or noncurrent versions.
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
✓
Transition
The S3 lifecycle 'Transition' action is specifically designed to move objects between storage classes after a specified number of days. To reduce costs by moving objects to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 180 days, you configure a lifecycle rule with a Transition action that targets the 'DEEP_ARCHIVE' storage class at the 180-day mark.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Expiration
Why it's wrong here
Expiration deletes objects permanently at the defined age rather than moving them to Glacier Deep Archive. It is tempting because it is a time-based lifecycle rule that lowers storage cost, and would be correct if the data were disposable, but the stem requires retention in an archive tier.
- ✓
Transition
Why this is correct
The Transition lifecycle action moves objects to another storage class after a specified age, so configuring it with a 180-day threshold and the Glacier Deep Archive target automates the cost reduction. Expiration would delete objects instead of archiving them.
- ✗
AbortIncompleteMultipartUpload
Why it's wrong here
AbortIncompleteMultipartUpload terminates unfinished multipart uploads after a set period; it never transitions completed objects between storage classes. It is tempting because it is a lifecycle action that reduces cost by clearing orphaned parts, which is its actual purpose, not archival tiering.
- ✗
NoncurrentVersionTransition
Why it's wrong here
NoncurrentVersionTransition moves only noncurrent object versions to another class; it leaves current versions untouched. It is tempting because it is a genuine transition action, and would be correct when versioned objects need older versions archived, but the requirement targets current objects after 180 days.
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
Related to this question
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every DEA-C01 question from scratch — 1,321 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This DEA-C01 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the DEA-C01 exam.