This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data store management. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A data engineer needs to store semi-structured JSON data that is accessed infrequently but must be retrievable within minutes. The data is generated by IoT devices and each object is about 500 KB. The engineer wants the most cost-effective storage solution. Which AWS service should be used?
Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive
Why wrong: Retrieval time is hours, not minutes.
Amazon S3 Standard
Why wrong: Standard tier is more expensive for infrequent access.
Amazon S3 Standard-Infrequent Access (S3 Standard-IA)
Cost-effective for infrequent access with rapid retrieval.
Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS)
Why wrong: EBS is block storage, not for object storage of JSON files.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Amazon S3 Standard-Infrequent Access (S3 Standard-IA)
Amazon S3 Standard-Infrequent Access (S3 Standard-IA) is the correct choice because it is designed for data that is accessed infrequently but requires rapid retrieval (within minutes). The 500 KB JSON objects from IoT devices fit the use case, and S3 Standard-IA offers lower storage costs than S3 Standard while maintaining the same low-latency retrieval performance, making it the most cost-effective option for this scenario.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive
Why it's wrong here
Retrieval time is hours, not minutes.
Amazon S3 Standard
Why it's wrong here
Standard tier is more expensive for infrequent access.
Amazon S3 Standard-Infrequent Access (S3 Standard-IA)
Why this is correct
Cost-effective for infrequent access with rapid retrieval.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS)
Why it's wrong here
EBS is block storage, not for object storage of JSON files.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse 'infrequent access' with 'archival' and choose Glacier Deep Archive, overlooking the retrieval time requirement of 'within minutes' which S3 Standard-IA satisfies but Glacier does not.
Detailed technical explanation
S3 Standard-IA uses the same 99.999999999% durability and low-latency retrieval (first-byte latency within milliseconds) as S3 Standard, but with a per-GB storage cost roughly 50% lower, offset by a per-GB retrieval fee. This makes it ideal for data like IoT logs that are accessed rarely but must be available quickly, such as for compliance audits or troubleshooting. Under the hood, S3 Standard-IA stores data on the same highly durable infrastructure but uses a different lifecycle management tier that optimizes for lower storage density at the cost of higher retrieval charges.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
What to study next
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FAQ
Data Store Management — This question tests Data Store Management — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Amazon S3 Standard-Infrequent Access (S3 Standard-IA) — Amazon S3 Standard-Infrequent Access (S3 Standard-IA) is the correct choice because it is designed for data that is accessed infrequently but requires rapid retrieval (within minutes). The 500 KB JSON objects from IoT devices fit the use case, and S3 Standard-IA offers lower storage costs than S3 Standard while maintaining the same low-latency retrieval performance, making it the most cost-effective option for this scenario.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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.
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