- A
Enable S3 lifecycle policies to automatically move objects to Glacier after 30 days only.
Why wrong: Lifecycle transitions help with cost and retention, but they do not protect against overwrites or provide cross-Region copies.
- B
Enable S3 versioning and configure Cross-Region Replication to a destination bucket in another Region.
Versioning preserves previous object states against overwrites and deletes, while replication provides an additional Region copy for recovery.
- C
Disable all versioning and rely on AWS Backup to restore objects from a scheduled backup window.
Why wrong: Relying on backups may introduce recovery delays and does not give immediate protection from overwrites as versioning does.
- D
Enable S3 Block Public Access and SSE-S3 encryption, without using versioning or replication.
Why wrong: Block Public Access and encryption improve security, but they do not address resilience to overwrites or Region-level failures.
SAA-C03 Design Resilient Architectures Practice Question
This SAA-C03 practice question tests your understanding of design resilient architectures. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. A key principle to apply: s3 Versioning keeps multiple object versions, protecting against accidental overwrites/deletes.. 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 team uses an S3 bucket to store important customer-generated exports. They need protection against accidental overwrites and also want copies of the data in another AWS Region for disaster recovery. Which S3 configuration best satisfies both requirements?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"best"Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
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 versioning and configure Cross-Region Replication to a destination bucket in another Region.
Option B is correct because enabling S3 versioning protects against accidental overwrites by preserving previous versions of objects, and configuring Cross-Region Replication (CRR) automatically replicates objects to a destination bucket in another AWS Region, providing disaster recovery. This combination meets both requirements without manual intervention.
Key principle: S3 Versioning keeps multiple object versions, protecting against accidental overwrites/deletes.
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 lifecycle policies to automatically move objects to Glacier after 30 days only.
Why it's wrong here
Lifecycle transitions help with cost and retention, but they do not protect against overwrites or provide cross-Region copies.
- ✓
Enable S3 versioning and configure Cross-Region Replication to a destination bucket in another Region.
Why this is correct
Versioning preserves previous object states against overwrites and deletes, while replication provides an additional Region copy for recovery.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
S3 Versioning keeps multiple object versions, protecting against accidental overwrites/deletes.
- ✗
Disable all versioning and rely on AWS Backup to restore objects from a scheduled backup window.
Why it's wrong here
Relying on backups may introduce recovery delays and does not give immediate protection from overwrites as versioning does.
- ✗
Enable S3 Block Public Access and SSE-S3 encryption, without using versioning or replication.
Why it's wrong here
Block Public Access and encryption improve security, but they do not address resilience to overwrites or Region-level failures.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may think AWS Backup alone can handle both accidental overwrites and disaster recovery, but it does not provide continuous versioning protection or real-time cross-region replication, and disabling versioning removes the ability to recover from overwrites.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
S3 versioning maintains multiple variants of an object in the same bucket, allowing recovery from accidental deletes or overwrites by accessing previous versions via the version ID. Cross-Region Replication (CRR) uses asynchronous replication to copy objects to a destination bucket in a different AWS Region, with replication triggers based on S3 events; note that CRR requires versioning enabled on both source and destination buckets, and only new objects after replication is configured are replicated by default unless you enable replication of existing objects. In a real-world scenario, if a customer export is overwritten, versioning allows retrieval of the prior version, while CRR ensures a copy exists in another region even if the source bucket is compromised.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- S3 Versioning keeps multiple object versions, protecting against accidental overwrites/deletes.
- Cross-Region Replication (CRR) copies objects to a different AWS Region for disaster recovery.
- Versioning and CRR can be enabled independently on an S3 bucket.
- CRR replicates new objects, object updates, and delete markers.
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
S3 Versioning keeps multiple object versions, protecting against accidental overwrites/deletes.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SAA-C03 question test?
Design Resilient Architectures — This question tests Design Resilient Architectures — S3 Versioning keeps multiple object versions, protecting against accidental overwrites/deletes..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Enable S3 versioning and configure Cross-Region Replication to a destination bucket in another Region. — Option B is correct because enabling S3 versioning protects against accidental overwrites by preserving previous versions of objects, and configuring Cross-Region Replication (CRR) automatically replicates objects to a destination bucket in another AWS Region, providing disaster recovery. This combination meets both requirements without manual intervention.
What should I do if I get this SAA-C03 question wrong?
Review s3 Versioning keeps multiple object versions, protecting against accidental overwrites/deletes., then practise related SAA-C03 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
S3 Versioning keeps multiple object versions, protecting against accidental overwrites/deletes.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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