SAA-C03 Design Resilient Architectures Practice Question

A media company stores generated video thumbnails in an Amazon S3 bucket. The bucket currently uses the S3 Standard storage class, and the objects are accessed frequently for the first 30 days and then almost never. The company wants to reduce storage costs automatically without changing the application and must retain the objects for at least one year. Which action should a solutions architect take?

⚠ Common exam trap

The trap here is reaching for S3 Intelligent-Tiering when the access pattern is already known and predictable rather than unknown.

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

✓

Configure an S3 Lifecycle rule to transition objects to S3 Standard-IA after 30 days and retain them for the required period.

The access pattern is known and stable: frequent for about 30 days, then rarely. A lifecycle rule that transitions objects to S3 Standard-IA after 30 days lowers storage cost automatically, requires no application change, and keeps the objects available for the required retention period.

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 S3 Intelligent-Tiering on the bucket and let AWS move the objects between access tiers automatically.
Why it's wrong here
S3 Intelligent-Tiering is a valid cost tool, but it adds a per-object monitoring and automation charge and is most valuable when access patterns are unknown or unpredictable. Here the pattern is explicitly known, so a simple lifecycle transition to S3 Standard-IA is more predictable and avoids the monitoring fee.
✗
Configure an S3 Lifecycle rule to transition objects to S3 One Zone-IA after 30 days and expire them after 365 days.
Why it's wrong here
S3 One Zone-IA stores data in a single Availability Zone, so it is not appropriate when the company has not accepted reduced durability for this data set, and the scenario asks to retain the objects for at least one year, which this expiration rule would violate by deleting them.
✗
Configure an S3 Lifecycle rule to transition objects to S3 Standard-IA after 30 days and to S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval after 90 days.
Why it's wrong here
S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval stores infrequently accessed data for long periods but still charges retrieval and minimum storage duration, and the company has not stated a need for archival retrieval latency or a long retention beyond one year, so this adds complexity and possible early-deletion charges without a stated benefit.
✓
Configure an S3 Lifecycle rule to transition objects to S3 Standard-IA after 30 days and retain them for the required period.
Why this is correct
S3 Standard-IA is designed for data accessed infrequently but requiring rapid access when needed, and its lower storage price with a 30-day minimum duration matches the access pattern described. A lifecycle transition applies automatically without application changes and preserves the objects for the required retention period.

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

Go deeper

SAA-C03 Design Resilient Architectures Practice Question

Why each option matters

Option-by-option breakdown

AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison

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