DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
A data engineer is configuring an Amazon S3 lifecycle policy to transition objects to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 90 days. The bucket receives new objects daily. The engineer wants to ensure that objects are not deleted before 90 days. Which lifecycle action should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse Expiration (which deletes objects) with Transition (which moves objects to another storage class), leading candidates to select Expiration when the goal is to retain objects for a minimum period before moving them to archival storage.
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
(Transition) is correct because the S3 Lifecycle Transition action moves objects between storage classes over time. To ensure objects are moved to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 90 days without deletion, a Transition rule is configured to specify the target storage class and the number of days from object creation.
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 permanently deletes objects once the specified age elapses, directly contradicting the requirement that nothing be removed before 90 days. It is the right action when data must be purged after a retention period, not retained in Deep Archive.
- ✓
Transition
Why this is correct
Transition moves objects to another storage class without deleting them, so objects remain retrievable in Glacier Deep Archive after 90 days. Expiration would delete them, and the engineer explicitly wants no deletion before 90 days, making Transition the appropriate lifecycle action.
- ✗
NoncurrentVersionTransition
Why it's wrong here
NoncurrentVersionTransition applies to superseded object versions, not current daily uploads, so it would leave the live objects untransitioned. It is correct when versioning is enabled and older versions must move to cheaper storage after being replaced.
- ✗
AbortIncompleteMultipartUpload
Why it's wrong here
AbortIncompleteMultipartUpload only terminates multipart uploads that never completed, cleaning up orphaned parts; it never transitions or deletes finished objects, so it cannot enforce the 90-day retention before archival. It suits cost control on failed uploads.
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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