DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
A data engineer is designing a data lake on Amazon S3 for storing raw sensor data. The data is append-only and accessed infrequently after 30 days. Compliance requires that data be retained for 7 years. Which S3 storage class is the MOST cost-effective for data older than 30 days?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers choose S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval (not listed) or S3 Standard-IA, mistakenly thinking that faster retrieval is necessary for compliance data, when in fact the 12-hour retrieval time of Glacier Deep Archive is sufficient for infrequent access patterns and offers the lowest cost.
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 Glacier Deep Archive
B is correct because Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive is the most cost-effective storage class for data that is accessed infrequently and must be retained for long periods (7 years). For data older than 30 days, the retrieval time of 12 hours is acceptable given the append-only, infrequent access pattern, and the storage cost is significantly lower than other classes.
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-IA
Why it's wrong here
Standard-IA is for infrequent access but has higher storage costs than Glacier Deep Archive.
- ✓
S3 Glacier Deep Archive
Why this is correct
This is the lowest-cost storage class for long-term archival data with infrequent access.
- ✗
S3 One Zone-IA
Why it's wrong here
One Zone-IA does not provide the same durability (99.99%) and is not recommended for compliance data.
- ✗
S3 Intelligent-Tiering
Why it's wrong here
Intelligent-Tiering automatically moves data, but if data is never accessed, it will stay in frequent access tier and cost more.
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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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.