DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
A data engineer needs to store archival data that is rarely accessed but must be retained for 7 years. The data should be retrievable within 12 hours. Which Amazon S3 storage class is MOST cost-effective?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval (which offers faster retrieval but higher cost) with S3 Glacier Deep Archive, failing to recognize that the 12-hour retrieval requirement is easily met by Deep Archive's standard retrieval, making it the most cost-effective choice for long-term archival.
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
S3 Glacier Deep Archive is the most cost-effective storage class for archival data that is rarely accessed and requires a 7-year retention period, with retrieval times up to 12 hours. It offers the lowest storage cost among S3 classes, making it ideal for long-term retention of data that does not need immediate access.
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 Intelligent-Tiering
Why it's wrong here
Intelligent-Tiering charges monitoring and automation fees per object while moving data between frequent and infrequent access tiers, none of which reach archive-depth pricing. It suits unpredictable, changing access patterns, not data known to be rarely accessed for seven years with a 12-hour retrieval tolerance.
- ✗
S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval
Why it's wrong here
Glacier Flexible Retrieval's standard retrieval completes in three to five hours, but its expedited and bulk options and per-retrieval charges make it costlier than Deep Archive for data needing only a 12-hour window. It fits archives requiring occasional hours-level access, not the cheapest seven-year retention.
- ✗
S3 Standard
Why it's wrong here
S3 Standard bills at the highest per-gigabyte rate with no archive tier, so seven years of rarely accessed data accrues far more cost than any archival class. It is tempting for its immediate millisecond retrieval, which suits frequently accessed, latency-sensitive data rather than long-term retention.
- ✓
S3 Glacier Deep Archive
Why this is correct
S3 Glacier Deep Archive offers the lowest storage cost of all S3 classes and supports a standard retrieval time within 12 hours, matching the stated access and retrieval constraints. Its 7-year retention suitability makes it the most cost-effective choice for rarely accessed archival data.
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.