An S3 bucket stores user-uploaded media. Most objects are never read again, but compliance requires keeping them for at least 18 months. Retrieval is rare and typically only needed during investigations. The current design keeps everything in S3 Standard, increasing storage cost. Which configuration best optimizes cost while meeting the retention and rare-access requirements?

Move all objects to S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval immediately upon upload and disable lifecycle policies.

Glacier Instant Retrieval can be useful for frequent retrieval needs with low latency, but it is not the most cost-optimized option for data that is rarely accessed. Disabling lifecycle removes the ability to move older data to cheaper tiers.

Keep objects in S3 Standard but compress them with a custom process to reduce storage size.

While compression may reduce object size, it introduces additional compute complexity and operational overhead. The biggest driver of storage cost is usually the storage class; transitioning to an archive tier provides a more direct and predictable cost reduction.

Enable S3 Intelligent-Tiering for all objects and delete any object not accessed within 24 hours.

Intelligent-Tiering can help when access patterns are unpredictable, but deleting objects after 24 hours directly violates the stated compliance requirement to retain data for at least 18 months.

What does this SAA-C03 question test?

Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Use an S3 lifecycle policy to transition objects to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 30 days, and expire them after 18 months. — Use S3 lifecycle policies to move objects to cheaper storage classes once they become infrequently accessed, while honoring the compliance retention period. In this scenario, most objects are rarely read after upload, and retrieval is only needed during investigations. Transitioning to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after an initial short period (for example, 30 days) provides substantial storage cost savings. The lifecycle rule should expire (delete) objects only after 18 months to maintain compliance. Moving everything immediately to Glacier Instant Retrieval is usually more expensive than deep archive options for rarely accessed data. Compression does not address the primary cost driver as effectively as storage class transitions and adds operational complexity. Intelligent-Tiering is compatible with variable access patterns, but the immediate deletion rule conflicts with the 18-month compliance requirement.

What should I do if I get this SAA-C03 question wrong?

Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.