- A
Transition to S3 One Zone-IA after 30 days, then to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 365 days.
Why wrong: One Zone-IA is not durable enough for a data lake.
- B
Transition to S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval after 90 days.
Why wrong: Glacier Flexible Retrieval is more expensive than Deep Archive for long-term archival.
- C
Transition to S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval after 30 days, then expire after 365 days.
Why wrong: Glacier Instant Retrieval is for data accessed quarterly, not annually, and costs more.
- D
Transition to S3 Standard-IA after 30 days, then to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 365 days.
Standard-IA is cost-effective for infrequent access, and Deep Archive is the cheapest archival tier.
Question 1,042 of 1,786
Optimize S3 Costs with Lifecycle Policies: Standard-IA to Glacier Deep Archive
This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data store management. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 is designing a data lake on Amazon S3. The data is accessed frequently for the first 30 days, then rarely accessed after 90 days, and must be archived after 1 year. Which S3 lifecycle policy configuration meets these requirements with the lowest cost?
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.
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
✓
Transition to S3 Standard-IA after 30 days, then to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 365 days.
Option D is correct because it transitions data to S3 Standard-IA after 30 days (when frequent access drops), then to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 365 days for archival, minimizing cost while meeting all access patterns. Standard-IA offers lower storage cost than Standard for infrequent access, and Glacier Deep Archive is the cheapest storage class for long-term archival.
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.
- ✗
Transition to S3 One Zone-IA after 30 days, then to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 365 days.
Why it's wrong here
One Zone-IA is not durable enough for a data lake.
- ✗
Transition to S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval after 90 days.
Why it's wrong here
Glacier Flexible Retrieval is more expensive than Deep Archive for long-term archival.
- ✗
Transition to S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval after 30 days, then expire after 365 days.
Why it's wrong here
Glacier Instant Retrieval is for data accessed quarterly, not annually, and costs more.
- ✓
Transition to S3 Standard-IA after 30 days, then to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 365 days.
Why this is correct
Standard-IA is cost-effective for infrequent access, and Deep Archive is the cheapest archival tier.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" 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 often choose S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval (Option C) thinking it balances retrieval speed and cost, but it is not designed for frequent access and does not archive data, only deletes it after 365 days.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
S3 Lifecycle policies use transitions based on object age, and the cost optimization relies on matching storage class to access frequency. Standard-IA has a minimum 30-day storage charge, making it ideal after 30 days, while Glacier Deep Archive has a 180-day minimum and retrieval cost of ~$0.00099/GB, making it the cheapest for archival. A common real-world scenario is a data lake with logs that are hot for 30 days, warm for 90 days, then cold for compliance; this policy balances cost and retrieval needs.
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.
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 |
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this DEA-C01 question test?
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: Transition to S3 Standard-IA after 30 days, then to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 365 days. — Option D is correct because it transitions data to S3 Standard-IA after 30 days (when frequent access drops), then to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 365 days for archival, minimizing cost while meeting all access patterns. Standard-IA offers lower storage cost than Standard for infrequent access, and Glacier Deep Archive is the cheapest storage class for long-term archival.
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". 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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Same concept, more angles
1 more ways this is tested on DEA-C01
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A data engineer is designing a data lake on Amazon S3. The data is accessed frequently for the first 30 days, then rarely after that. The engineer needs to minimize storage costs while ensuring data is available within minutes for the first 30 days and can be retrieved within 12 hours after that. Which lifecycle policy should be applied?
medium- A.Transition to S3 One Zone-IA after 30 days.
- B.Transition to S3 Standard-IA after 30 days.
- ✓ C.Transition to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 30 days.
- D.Transition to S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval after 30 days.
Why C: Option C is correct because S3 Glacier Deep Archive offers the lowest storage cost for data that is rarely accessed after 30 days, and its retrieval time (within 12 hours) matches the requirement. The lifecycle policy transitions objects from S3 Standard (or S3 Intelligent-Tiering) to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 30 days, minimizing costs while meeting the 12-hour retrieval window.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 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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