The answer is to delete incomplete multipart uploads after 7 days and transition objects to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 90 days. These two actions directly reduce storage costs by eliminating wasted space from failed uploads and moving cold data to the cheapest retrieval tier. An S3 lifecycle policy for cost reduction targets two main waste sources: orphaned upload parts that accumulate charges, and infrequently accessed data that doesn’t need Standard or Infrequent Access pricing. On the AWS Certified Data Engineer Associate DEA-C01 exam, this question tests your ability to distinguish between cost-saving actions and data management features like versioning or replication—a common trap is confusing lifecycle transitions with immediate deletion. Remember that Glacier Deep Archive requires a 12-hour retrieval window, making it ideal for historical data in a data lake. A useful memory tip: “Clean the parts, freeze the cold”—delete multipart uploads quickly, then archive old objects deeply.
DEA-C01 Data Store Management Practice Question
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 company is designing a data lake on Amazon S3. The data engineering team needs to implement a lifecycle policy to manage costs. Which TWO actions should be taken to reduce storage costs?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Transition objects to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 90 days.
Option A is correct because transitioning objects to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 90 days significantly reduces storage costs for data that is rarely accessed and can tolerate a retrieval time of 12 hours. This lifecycle policy is a standard cost-optimization strategy for data lakes where historical or cold data does not require immediate access.
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 objects to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 90 days.
Why this is correct
Deep Archive is lowest cost for rarely accessed data.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Transition objects to S3 One Zone-IA after 30 days.
Why it's wrong here
One Zone-IA is less durable and may not be appropriate.
✗
Enable S3 Intelligent-Tiering.
Why it's wrong here
Intelligent-Tiering has monitoring costs and may not be optimal.
✗
Transition objects to S3 Standard-IA after 30 days.
Why it's wrong here
May not be cost-effective if data is accessed frequently.
✓
Delete incomplete multipart uploads after 7 days.
Why this is correct
Prevents storage of incomplete upload parts.
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 Intelligent-Tiering or S3 Standard-IA as cost-saving measures without considering that the question specifically asks for lifecycle policy actions to reduce costs, and that Glacier Deep Archive and deleting incomplete multipart uploads are the most direct and effective actions for a data lake scenario.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
S3 Lifecycle policies use a set of rules defined in XML or JSON to automate transitions between storage classes. The transition to Glacier Deep Archive after 90 days leverages the fact that the retrieval time (12 hours) is acceptable for compliance or backup data, and the storage cost is approximately $0.00099 per GB/month, compared to $0.023 per GB/month for S3 Standard-IA. Deleting incomplete multipart uploads after 7 days prevents storage costs from accumulating for failed or abandoned uploads, as each part is stored as a separate object until the upload is completed or aborted.
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: Transition objects to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 90 days. — Option A is correct because transitioning objects to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 90 days significantly reduces storage costs for data that is rarely accessed and can tolerate a retrieval time of 12 hours. This lifecycle policy is a standard cost-optimization strategy for data lakes where historical or cold data does not require immediate access.
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.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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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.
Question Discussion
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