Quick Answer
The answer is the Transition action. This is correct because the S3 lifecycle policy’s Transition action is specifically designed to move objects between storage classes, such as from S3 Standard to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after a specified number of days. In contrast, the Expiration action only removes objects permanently, so to meet the requirement of automatically transitioning sensitive data to Glacier Deep Archive after 90 days and then deleting it after 7 years, you must configure two separate rules: one Transition rule with a Days value of 90 and StorageClass set to DEEP_ARCHIVE, and a separate Expiration rule set to 365*7 days. On the AWS Certified Data Engineer Associate DEA-C01 exam, this scenario tests your ability to distinguish between lifecycle actions—a common trap is confusing Transition with Expiration or assuming a single rule can both move and delete data. A helpful memory tip: Transition moves data to colder storage, Expiration removes it forever—think “Transition to chill, Expiration to kill.”
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 company is using Amazon S3 to store sensitive data. They need to automatically transition objects to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 90 days and delete them after 7 years. Which S3 lifecycle configuration action should be used?
Transition
Transition moves objects to another storage class based on age.
AbortIncompleteMultipartUpload
Why wrong: This action is used to abort incomplete multipart uploads, not to transition objects.
Expiration
Why wrong: Expiration only deletes objects, it does not transition them to another storage class.
NoncurrentVersionExpiration
Why wrong: This applies to noncurrent versions of objects, not to transitioning current versions.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Transition
Option A is correct because the S3 lifecycle 'Transition' action is specifically designed to move objects between storage classes. To automatically move objects to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 90 days, you define a transition rule with a 'Days' value of 90 and a 'StorageClass' of 'DEEP_ARCHIVE'. This action directly meets the requirement for transitioning data to a colder storage tier.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Transition
Why this is correct
Transition moves objects to another storage class based on age.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
AbortIncompleteMultipartUpload
Why it's wrong here
This action is used to abort incomplete multipart uploads, not to transition objects.
Expiration
Why it's wrong here
Expiration only deletes objects, it does not transition them to another storage class.
NoncurrentVersionExpiration
Why it's wrong here
This applies to noncurrent versions of objects, not to transitioning current versions.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse 'Expiration' with 'Transition', thinking that deleting objects after a period is the same as moving them to a colder storage class, but expiration deletes data while transition preserves it in a different tier.
Detailed technical explanation
Under the hood, S3 Lifecycle policies are evaluated once per day, so transitions are not instantaneous but occur within 24 hours of the specified day. The 'Transition' action supports moving objects from any storage class to colder classes like S3 Glacier Deep Archive, but you cannot transition from S3 Glacier Deep Archive to a warmer class. In real-world scenarios, combining a transition rule with a separate expiration rule (e.g., delete after 7 years) is common, but the question specifically asks for the action to transition after 90 days.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
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FAQ
Data Store Management — This question tests Data Store Management — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Transition — Option A is correct because the S3 lifecycle 'Transition' action is specifically designed to move objects between storage classes. To automatically move objects to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 90 days, you define a transition rule with a 'Days' value of 90 and a 'StorageClass' of 'DEEP_ARCHIVE'. This action directly meets the requirement for transitioning data to a colder storage tier.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 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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