DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
A data engineer is configuring Amazon S3 Lifecycle policies to transition objects between storage classes. The data is accessed frequently for the first 30 days, then rarely for the next 90 days, after which it must be archived. The engineer wants to minimize costs while ensuring immediate retrieval for the first 30 days. Which lifecycle policy should the engineer implement?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers choose Glacier Deep Archive too early (e.g., after 30 days) to minimize cost, forgetting that the data must be immediately retrievable for the first 30 days and rarely accessed but still retrievable for the next 90 days, which requires a storage class with immediate retrieval (Standard-IA) before archiving.
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 to Standard-IA after 30 days, then to Glacier Deep Archive after 120 days
It transitions objects from S3 Standard (immediate retrieval, frequent access) to S3 Standard-IA (lower cost for infrequent access, immediate retrieval) after 30 days, then to S3 Glacier Deep Archive (lowest-cost archival storage) after 120 days. This matches the access pattern: frequent for 30 days, rare for 90 days, then archived, while minimizing cost and maintaining immediate retrieval for the first 30 days.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Transition to Glacier Flexible Retrieval after 30 days, then delete after 120 days
Why it's wrong here
Glacier has retrieval delays; data still needs to be accessed rarely, not archived.
- ✗
Transition to One Zone-IA after 30 days, then to Glacier Deep Archive after 120 days
Why it's wrong here
One Zone-IA is less durable and not suitable if data loss is unacceptable.
- ✗
Transition to Glacier Deep Archive after 30 days, then delete after 120 days
Why it's wrong here
Immediate retrieval is needed for 30 days; Glacier Deep Archive has long retrieval times.
- ✓
Transition to Standard-IA after 30 days, then to Glacier Deep Archive after 120 days
Why this is correct
Standard-IA is cost-effective for rarely accessed data; Glacier Deep Archive is cheapest for archiving.
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.