DEA-C01 S3 Lifecycle expiration Practice Question
Network Topology
A data engineer is reviewing the S3 Lifecycle policy for a data lake bucket. The goal is to archive log data after 30 days and delete it after 365 days, and delete temporary data after 1 day. What is wrong with the current configuration?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates think that expiration for GLACIER objects requires prior restoration, but AWS documentation states that expiration can delete objects directly. Also, expiration is always based on creation date, not transition date.
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
✓
The transition to GLACIER should be after 30 days, but the expiration should be after 365 days from the transition, not from creation.
The current lifecycle configuration is correct: it transitions objects to GLACIER after 30 days and expires them 365 days after creation. However, a common mistake is to configure expiration relative to the transition date. Option D identifies this error by stating that expiration should be based on creation date, not transition. The other options are incorrect: A - prefix filters do not require wildcards; B - expiration actions do not need a prior transition; C - S3 Lifecycle can expire GLACIER objects without restoration.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The prefix filter for the first rule does not include a wildcard, so it may not match all log files.
Why it's wrong here
Prefix filters do not need wildcards; they match all objects with the specified prefix.
- ✗
The rule for temp data has no transition, so it will not expire objects.
Why it's wrong here
Expiration works without transition; objects will be deleted after 1 day.
- ✗
The expiration for the first rule will not delete objects in GLACIER storage class unless they are restored first.
Why it's wrong here
This is a common misconception; S3 Lifecycle can expire objects in GLACIER directly. However, the question expects this as the correct answer due to common misunderstanding.
- ✓
The transition to GLACIER should be after 30 days, but the expiration should be after 365 days from the transition, not from creation.
Why this is correct
The Days in lifecycle rules are always from the object creation date, not from the transition.
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
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.