DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question

Exhibit

CloudFormation snippet:
"MyS3Bucket": {
  "Type": "AWS::S3::Bucket",
  "Properties": {
    "VersioningConfiguration": {
      "Status": "Enabled"
    },
    "LifecycleConfiguration": {
      "Rules": [
        {
          "Id": "ArchiveOldData",
          "Status": "Enabled",
          "ExpirationInDays": 365,
          "Transitions": [
            {
              "TransitionInDays": 30,
              "StorageClass": "STANDARD_IA"
            },
            {
              "TransitionInDays": 90,
              "StorageClass": "GLACIER"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

A data team uses the CloudFormation template in the exhibit to create an S3 bucket for storing log files. After one year, they notice that the bucket size is larger than expected. They investigate and find that older versions of objects are not being deleted or transitioned. What is the most likely cause?

⚠ Common exam trap

A common mix-up: candidates assume a lifecycle rule with `ExpirationInDays` automatically cleans up all versions of an object, but in S3 with versioning enabled, it only affects the current version, leaving noncurrent versions to accumulate.

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 lifecycle rule does not apply to noncurrent versions because it lacks NoncurrentVersionExpiration or NoncurrentVersionTransition.

The lifecycle rule in the CloudFormation template is missing the `NoncurrentVersionExpiration` or `NoncurrentVersionTransition` properties. When S3 bucket versioning is enabled, lifecycle rules that only specify `ExpirationInDays` or `Transition` apply exclusively to the current version of objects. To manage older (noncurrent) versions, you must explicitly include `NoncurrentVersionExpirationInDays` or `NoncurrentVersionTransitionInDays` in the rule. Without these, noncurrent versions accumulate indefinitely, causing the bucket size to grow larger than expected.

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 lifecycle rule does not apply to noncurrent versions because it lacks NoncurrentVersionExpiration or NoncurrentVersionTransition.
Why this is correct
Old versions are not managed by the rule.
✗
The lifecycle rule is not enabled because the Status property is not set to 'Enabled' properly.
Why it's wrong here
Status is 'Enabled'.
✗
The bucket has versioning enabled, but the lifecycle rule only applies to current versions.
Why it's wrong here
The rule applies to current versions only, but old versions are not handled.
✗
The expiration in days is set to 365, which is too short.
Why it's wrong here
Expiration is fine for current versions, but old versions remain.

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

DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question

Exhibit

Why each option matters

Option-by-option breakdown

AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison

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