DOP-C02 Security and Compliance Practice Question
A company needs to store audit logs for 7 years to meet compliance requirements. Which S3 storage class is the most cost-effective for long-term archival?
⚠ Common exam trap
DOP-C02 often tests the confusion between Glacier Flexible Retrieval and Glacier Deep Archive, so candidates who pick Flexible Retrieval for 'archival' miss the cost-effectiveness requirement for rarely accessed data.
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
✓
S3 Glacier Deep Archive
S3 Glacier Deep Archive is the lowest-cost S3 storage class, designed for data accessed less than once per year, with a standard retrieval time of 12 hours and a minimum storage duration of 180 days. For 7-year audit log retention where retrieval is rare and compliance-driven, it is the most cost-effective choice.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
S3 Glacier Deep Archive
Why this is correct
S3 Glacier Deep Archive is the lowest-cost storage class in Amazon S3, designed for long-term retention of data accessed at most once or twice per year. With a per-GB storage price that is significantly lower than both Standard and Glacier Flexible Retrieval, it is the most cost-effective choice for a 7-year compliance archive where retrieval latency of up to 12 hours is acceptable. This makes it the correct answer for the stated requirement.
- ✗
S3 Intelligent-Tiering
Why it's wrong here
S3 Intelligent-Tiering automatically monitors access patterns and moves objects between access tiers, which is useful when usage is unpredictable. However, it is not the lowest-cost option for a known 7-year archive because it charges a monthly monitoring and automation fee per object, and its archive tiers (such as Archive Instant Access) are priced higher than Deep Archive. For data that is known to be rarely accessed, explicitly choosing Deep Archive avoids these overheads.
- ✗
S3 Standard
Why it's wrong here
S3 Standard is optimized for frequently accessed, high-availability data with millisecond access times and no retrieval fees, but it has the highest per-GB storage cost among S3 classes. Storing compliance audit logs for 7 years in Standard would incur unnecessary expense because the data is rarely accessed and the high durability/performance features are not required for cold archival. This makes Standard uneconomical for the stated retention period.
- ✗
S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval
Why it's wrong here
S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval (formerly Glacier) offers lower storage costs than Standard with retrieval times ranging from minutes to hours, making it suitable for backup archives with occasional access. However, its per-GB storage price is still higher than S3 Glacier Deep Archive, and it has a minimum storage duration of 90 days, so over a 7-year period using Flexible Retrieval would cost more than Deep Archive without providing the additional benefits needed here. Thus, while cheaper than Standard, it is not the most cost-effective option for a purely compliance-driven archive.
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 |
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Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on DOP-C02
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 company has a requirement to store audit logs for 7 years. The logs are currently stored in Amazon S3 and are accessed infrequently. Which storage class provides the lowest cost while meeting the retention requirement?
hard- A.S3 Intelligent-Tiering
- B.S3 Standard
- ✓ C.S3 Glacier Deep Archive
- D.S3 One Zone-Infrequent Access
Why C: S3 Glacier Deep Archive is the lowest-cost storage class designed for long-term retention of data that is accessed rarely, with a minimum storage duration of 180 days. It meets the 7-year audit log retention requirement at the lowest cost among the options. It provides retrieval times of 12 hours, which is acceptable for infrequently accessed audit logs.
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Amazon Web Services exam blueprint
This DOP-C02 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 DOP-C02 exam.