- A
Enable MFA Delete and set a lifecycle policy to transition to S3 Glacier after 30 days.
Why wrong: MFA Delete requires multi-factor authentication for each deletion, which is not automated and may be impractical.
- B
Enable versioning and set a lifecycle policy to expire noncurrent versions after 365 days.
Why wrong: Versioning alone does not prevent deletion; users can delete objects permanently.
- C
Enable cross-Region replication to a bucket with versioning enabled.
Why wrong: Replication does not prevent deletion; objects can still be deleted from the source bucket.
- D
Enable S3 Object Lock with Governance mode and a retention period of 365 days, and set a lifecycle policy to transition to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 30 days.
Object Lock prevents deletion during the retention period, and lifecycle transition reduces costs.
Quick Answer
The correct combination is S3 Object Lock with Governance mode and a 365-day retention period, paired with a lifecycle policy transitioning objects to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 30 days. This works because S3 Object Lock enforces write-once-read-many (WORM) immutability, preventing any user—including the root user—from deleting or overwriting backups during the retention window, which directly satisfies the one-year availability requirement. The lifecycle rule then moves data to Glacier Deep Archive after 30 days, slashing storage costs while still allowing retrieval within 12 hours, a common trade-off for backup immutability. On the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional DOP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of combining governance-level object lock (which allows privileged users to adjust settings if needed) with lifecycle transitions for cost optimization—a frequent trap is choosing Compliance mode, which is irreversible and overkill for most backup use cases. Remember the mnemonic: “Govern for flexibility, Deep Archive for thriftiness.”
DOP-C02 Resilient Cloud Solutions Practice Question
This DOP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of resilient cloud solutions. 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 uses a third-party backup solution to back up its EC2 instances daily. The backups are stored in an S3 bucket with default settings. The company wants to ensure that backups are protected from accidental deletion and are available for at least one year. Which combination of S3 features should the DevOps engineer implement?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"least"Why it matters: You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.
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
Enable S3 Object Lock with Governance mode and a retention period of 365 days, and set a lifecycle policy to transition to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 30 days.
Option D is correct because S3 Object Lock with Governance mode prevents objects from being deleted or overwritten by any user (including the root user) for the specified retention period of 365 days, meeting the one-year availability requirement. The lifecycle policy to transition to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 30 days reduces storage costs while still keeping the data accessible for retrieval within 12 hours, which is acceptable for backup retention. This combination ensures immutability and cost-effective long-term storage.
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.
- ✗
Enable MFA Delete and set a lifecycle policy to transition to S3 Glacier after 30 days.
Why it's wrong here
MFA Delete requires multi-factor authentication for each deletion, which is not automated and may be impractical.
- ✗
Enable versioning and set a lifecycle policy to expire noncurrent versions after 365 days.
Why it's wrong here
Versioning alone does not prevent deletion; users can delete objects permanently.
- ✗
Enable cross-Region replication to a bucket with versioning enabled.
Why it's wrong here
Replication does not prevent deletion; objects can still be deleted from the source bucket.
- ✓
Enable S3 Object Lock with Governance mode and a retention period of 365 days, and set a lifecycle policy to transition to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 30 days.
Why this is correct
Object Lock prevents deletion during the retention period, and lifecycle transition reduces costs.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "least" 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 confuse versioning with immutability, assuming that versioning alone prevents deletion, but versioning only creates multiple versions and does not prevent the current version from being deleted (it becomes a delete marker), whereas S3 Object Lock provides true immutability by preventing any deletion or overwrite during the retention period.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
S3 Object Lock uses a Write-Once-Read-Many (WORM) model, and in Governance mode, users with the s3:BypassGovernanceRetention permission can still override the retention, but this permission is typically restricted to the root user or specific IAM roles. The retention period is enforced at the object level, and once set, it cannot be shortened by any user, ensuring compliance with retention policies. Lifecycle transitions to S3 Glacier Deep Archive are asynchronous and can take up to 48 hours to complete, but the object remains accessible during the transition.
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.
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Resilient Cloud Solutions — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this DOP-C02 question test?
Resilient Cloud Solutions — This question tests Resilient Cloud Solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Enable S3 Object Lock with Governance mode and a retention period of 365 days, and set a lifecycle policy to transition to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 30 days. — Option D is correct because S3 Object Lock with Governance mode prevents objects from being deleted or overwritten by any user (including the root user) for the specified retention period of 365 days, meeting the one-year availability requirement. The lifecycle policy to transition to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 30 days reduces storage costs while still keeping the data accessible for retrieval within 12 hours, which is acceptable for backup retention. This combination ensures immutability and cost-effective long-term storage.
What should I do if I get this DOP-C02 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: "least". You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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.
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