SAA-C03 Design Cost-Optimized Architectures Practice Question
A company stores user uploads in an S3 bucket. Objects are accessed rarely after upload, but when an object is accessed, it must be retrievable quickly (minutes to a few hours). Objects must be retained for at least 18 months. The team wants to reduce storage cost while meeting these requirements. Which lifecycle configuration best fits these requirements?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse retrieval time requirements: S3 Glacier Deep Archive is cheaper but has retrieval times of hours, not minutes, and S3 Intelligent-Tiering is for unpredictable access, not for data that is rarely accessed after upload.
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
✓
After 30 days, transition objects to S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval, and after 18 months, expire (delete) the objects.
It transitions objects to S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval after 30 days, which provides millisecond retrieval for rarely accessed data, meeting the quick retrieval requirement. The 18-month expiration ensures compliance with the retention policy while minimizing storage costs compared to keeping data in S3 Standard.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Keep all objects in S3 Standard permanently to avoid lifecycle transition fees.
Why it's wrong here
Keeping objects in S3 Standard does not reduce storage cost. Lifecycle transitions are specifically designed to move infrequently accessed data to lower-cost storage classes after a delay. Even if there are per-transition request costs, the ongoing savings from using a cheaper storage class for the long retention period typically outweigh those transition request costs.
- ✓
After 30 days, transition objects to S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval, and after 18 months, expire (delete) the objects.
Why this is correct
The prompt requires (1) cost reduction for data that becomes infrequently accessed and (2) quick retrieval when accessed again, and (3) a minimum retention of at least 18 months. Glacier Instant Retrieval is intended for data that is accessed occasionally and needs fast retrieval. Transitioning after 30 days moves the long-term, rarely accessed portion of the data to a cheaper class, while expiring at 18 months satisfies the explicit retention requirement (the objects remain for at least 18 months).
- ✗
After 30 days, transition objects to S3 Intelligent-Tiering, and set expiration to 12 months.
Why it's wrong here
Intelligent-Tiering can reduce cost when access patterns are unpredictable, but the expiration setting must still meet the business retention requirement. Expiring at 12 months violates the requirement to retain objects for at least 18 months, so this option would fail compliance.
- ✗
After 30 days, transition objects to S3 Glacier Deep Archive, and set expiration to 18 months.
Why it's wrong here
Deep Archive is generally the lowest-cost option for data that is extremely rarely accessed, but it has much slower restore times compared with Instant Retrieval. Because the prompt states that when accessed, objects must be retrievable quickly (minutes to a few hours), Deep Archive is not the best fit even though it would satisfy the 18-month retention requirement and would reduce cost.
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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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
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