← MLS-C01·Amazon Web Services

Question 746 of 1,755

Data Engineering →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

MLS-C01 Data Engineering Practice Question

This MLS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data engineering. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 research institution is building a data lake to store genomics data. Each experiment generates multiple files totaling about 500 GB. The data is stored in Amazon S3 and needs to be processed by multiple machine learning (ML) training jobs running on Amazon SageMaker. The data has a high churn rate; after 30 days, most data becomes irrelevant and should be moved to Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive. The institution wants to minimize storage costs while maintaining data durability. Which S3 storage class should they use for the first 30 days?

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.
Clue: "minimum / minimize"
Why it matters: Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.

A
Use S3 Intelligent-Tiering for all data, and set a lifecycle policy to transition to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 30 days.
Intelligent-Tiering automatically optimizes costs by moving data to lower-cost tiers when not accessed, and it provides high durability.
B
Use S3 One Zone-IA for all data, and set a lifecycle policy to transition to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 30 days.
Why wrong: S3 One Zone-IA does not provide the durability of multiple Availability Zones; data loss risk is higher.
C
Use S3 Standard for all data, and set a lifecycle policy to transition to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 30 days.
Why wrong: S3 Standard is more expensive than necessary if data is accessed only for a short period.
D
Use S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval for all data, and set a lifecycle policy to transition to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 30 days.
Why wrong: Glacier Instant Retrieval is designed for rarely accessed data that requires millisecond retrieval; it is more expensive than Standard for data that is accessed frequently.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

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

✓

Use S3 Intelligent-Tiering for all data, and set a lifecycle policy to transition to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 30 days.

S3 Intelligent-Tiering is the most cost-effective storage class for the first 30 days because it automatically moves data between frequent and infrequent access tiers based on usage, without any retrieval fees. This is ideal for genomics data that may have unknown or changing access patterns during the initial processing period. After 30 days, a lifecycle rule transitions the data to S3 Glacier Deep Archive for long-term storage, minimizing costs. S3 Standard is more expensive for data that may not be accessed frequently, S3 One Zone-IA lacks durability across Availability Zones, and S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval is designed for long-lived, rarely accessed data and is not cost-effective for the first 30 days.

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.

✓
Use S3 Intelligent-Tiering for all data, and set a lifecycle policy to transition to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 30 days.
Why this is correct
Intelligent-Tiering automatically optimizes costs by moving data to lower-cost tiers when not accessed, and it provides high durability.
Clue confirmation
The clue words "first", "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use S3 One Zone-IA for all data, and set a lifecycle policy to transition to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 30 days.
Why it's wrong here
S3 One Zone-IA does not provide the durability of multiple Availability Zones; data loss risk is higher.
✗
Use S3 Standard for all data, and set a lifecycle policy to transition to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 30 days.
Why it's wrong here
S3 Standard is more expensive than necessary if data is accessed only for a short period.
✗
Use S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval for all data, and set a lifecycle policy to transition to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 30 days.
Why it's wrong here
Glacier Instant Retrieval is designed for rarely accessed data that requires millisecond retrieval; it is more expensive than Standard for data that is accessed frequently.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.

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.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.

TExam Day Tips

Underline the problem statement mentally.
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.

Identify which MLS-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.

Related MLS-C01 practice-question pages

Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.

Data Engineering practice questions

Practise MLS-C01 questions linked to Data Engineering.

Machine Learning Implementation and Operations practice questions

Practise MLS-C01 questions linked to Machine Learning Implementation and Operations.

Modeling practice questions

Practise MLS-C01 questions linked to Modeling.

Exploratory Data Analysis practice questions

Practise MLS-C01 questions linked to Exploratory Data Analysis.

MLS-C01 fundamentals practice questions

Practise MLS-C01 questions linked to MLS-C01 fundamentals.

MLS-C01 scenario practice questions

Practise MLS-C01 questions linked to MLS-C01 scenario.

MLS-C01 troubleshooting practice questions

Practise MLS-C01 questions linked to MLS-C01 troubleshooting.

Practice this exam

Start a free MLS-C01 practice session

Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.

10 questions 20 questions 30 questions 50 questions Timed 30

MLS-C01 practice-test guide →Study guide →Browse all practice tests

FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this MLS-C01 question test?

Data Engineering — This question tests Data Engineering — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Use S3 Intelligent-Tiering for all data, and set a lifecycle policy to transition to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 30 days. — S3 Intelligent-Tiering is the most cost-effective storage class for the first 30 days because it automatically moves data between frequent and infrequent access tiers based on usage, without any retrieval fees. This is ideal for genomics data that may have unknown or changing access patterns during the initial processing period. After 30 days, a lifecycle rule transitions the data to S3 Glacier Deep Archive for long-term storage, minimizing costs. S3 Standard is more expensive for data that may not be accessed frequently, S3 One Zone-IA lacks durability across Availability Zones, and S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval is designed for long-lived, rarely accessed data and is not cost-effective for the first 30 days.

What should I do if I get this MLS-C01 question wrong?

Are there clue words in this question I should notice?

Yes — watch for: "first", "minimum / minimize". 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 →

How Courseiva writes practice questions · Editorial policy

Keep practising

Question Discussion

Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.

Loading comments…

This MLS-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 MLS-C01 exam.