DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
A data engineer needs to store semi-structured JSON files that are accessed infrequently but must be retrievable within minutes. The data should be stored cost-effectively. Which storage solution meets these requirements?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse retrieval time with retrieval cost, assuming that 'infrequent access' implies slower retrieval, but S3 Standard-IA provides the same low-latency access as S3 Standard, unlike Glacier classes which have significantly longer retrieval times.
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
✓
Amazon S3 Standard-Infrequent Access (S3 Standard-IA) storage class.
Amazon S3 Standard-Infrequent Access (S3 Standard-IA) is the correct choice because it is designed for data accessed infrequently but requires rapid retrieval (within milliseconds). It offers lower storage costs than S3 Standard while maintaining low-latency access, meeting the requirement of retrievability within minutes cost-effectively.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Amazon S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval storage class.
Why it's wrong here
Glacier Flexible Retrieval's expedited tier still takes 1–5 minutes and standard retrieval up to 12 hours, so it cannot guarantee minute-level availability for unpredictable access. It suits long-term archives where retrieval latency of minutes to hours is acceptable and cost savings outweigh access speed.
- ✗
Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive storage class.
Why it's wrong here
Glacier Deep Archive retrieval takes 12–48 hours, far exceeding the minutes required, so it fails the latency requirement outright. It is designed for compliance archives and rarely accessed data where retrieval delays of many hours are tolerable and lowest cost is paramount.
- ✓
Amazon S3 Standard-Infrequent Access (S3 Standard-IA) storage class.
Why this is correct
S3 Standard-IA matches the stated access pattern: infrequent retrieval with millisecond availability, satisfying the "within minutes" constraint. It costs less than S3 Standard for storage while retaining the same low-latency access, unlike Glacier tiers, which impose retrieval delays measured in minutes to hours.
- ✗
Amazon S3 Standard storage class.
Why it's wrong here
S3 Standard charges premium rates for frequent access, so it fails the cost-effectiveness requirement for infrequently read JSON. It is the right choice when data is accessed often and low latency matters more than storage price, not for archival-style infrequent retrieval.
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
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