DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
A company is using Amazon S3 to store large amounts of archival data. The data is accessed infrequently but must be immediately retrievable when needed. Which storage class is the most cost-effective choice?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse 'immediately retrievable' with 'lowest cost' and choose Glacier Deep Archive, overlooking the critical requirement for instant access versus the 12-48 hour retrieval time of Deep Archive.
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 Standard-IA
S3 Standard-IA (Infrequent Access) is the most cost-effective choice because it offers lower storage costs than S3 Standard while still providing millisecond first-byte latency for immediate retrieval. The data is accessed infrequently but requires instant availability, which matches the IA use case exactly.
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 Standard
Why it's wrong here
Higher cost for infrequent access.
- ✓
S3 Standard-IA
Why this is correct
Designed for infrequently accessed data with immediate retrieval.
- ✗
S3 Glacier Deep Archive
Why it's wrong here
Has retrieval delays (12 hours).
- ✗
S3 Intelligent-Tiering
Why it's wrong here
Good for unknown patterns, but not best for known infrequent access.
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 |
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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.