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 media company stores video files in an Amazon S3 bucket with S3 Standard storage class. The files are accessed frequently for the first 30 days, then rarely after that. However, the company must be able to restore any deleted file within 7 days. The company wants to minimize storage costs while meeting the access and retention requirements. What should a data engineer do?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "first"
Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Clue: "minimum / minimize"
Why it matters: Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use S3 Intelligent-Tiering and enable S3 Versioning on the bucket.
Option D is correct because S3 Intelligent-Tiering automatically moves objects between access tiers (frequent, infrequent, and archive instant access) based on changing access patterns, which minimizes storage costs for data with unknown or changing access patterns. Enabling S3 Versioning allows the company to restore any deleted file within 7 days by reverting to a previous version, meeting the retention requirement without additional cost for a separate backup.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Use S3 Standard-IA storage class from the start.
Why it's wrong here
Standard-IA has a minimum storage charge and is not optimal for frequent first-30-day access.
✗
Use a lifecycle policy to transition objects to S3 One Zone-IA after 30 days.
Why it's wrong here
One Zone-IA does not provide the same durability and does not offer deletion recovery.
✗
Use S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 30 days and enable S3 Object Lock for retention.
Why it's wrong here
Glacier Deep Archive has retrieval times of hours, not meeting the 7-day restore requirement.
✓
Use S3 Intelligent-Tiering and enable S3 Versioning on the bucket.
Why this is correct
S3 Intelligent-Tiering optimizes costs by moving data between access tiers, and Versioning allows recovery of deleted objects.
Clue confirmation
The clue words "first", "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may overlook the requirement to restore deleted files within 7 days and focus only on cost optimization, leading them to choose a storage class like S3 Standard-IA or S3 One Zone-IA that lacks versioning or retention capabilities, or they may incorrectly assume S3 Object Lock can restore already deleted files.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
S3 Intelligent-Tiering monitors access patterns at the object level and moves objects between the Frequent Access tier (similar to S3 Standard), Infrequent Access tier (similar to S3 Standard-IA), and Archive Instant Access tier (for data accessed less than once a quarter) with no retrieval fees and a small monthly monitoring fee per object. S3 Versioning retains all versions of an object, including delete markers, so a deleted object can be restored by removing the delete marker, and the 7-day retention requirement can be met by using S3 Lifecycle policies to permanently delete noncurrent versions after 7 days.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
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
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Data Store Management — This question tests Data Store Management — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use S3 Intelligent-Tiering and enable S3 Versioning on the bucket. — Option D is correct because S3 Intelligent-Tiering automatically moves objects between access tiers (frequent, infrequent, and archive instant access) based on changing access patterns, which minimizes storage costs for data with unknown or changing access patterns. Enabling S3 Versioning allows the company to restore any deleted file within 7 days by reverting to a previous version, meeting the retention requirement without additional cost for a separate backup.
What should I do if I get this DEA-C01 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "first", "minimum / minimize". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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