SAP-C02 Design for New Solutions Practice Question
A company is designing a data lake on Amazon S3. Data is ingested from various sources, including IoT devices, and must be stored in a cost-effective manner. The data access patterns are unpredictable; some data is accessed frequently for a few days, then rarely accessed. The company wants to minimize storage costs while ensuring data is available within minutes when accessed. Which storage class should they use for the data?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates choose S3 Standard for its low latency and availability, overlooking the cost savings of Intelligent-Tiering for unpredictable access patterns, or mistakenly select S3 Glacier Deep Archive thinking it is the cheapest option without considering the retrieval time requirement of 'within minutes'.
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
✓
S3 Intelligent-Tiering
S3 Intelligent-Tiering is the correct choice because it automatically moves data between two access tiers (frequent and infrequent access) based on changing access patterns, with no retrieval fees. This matches the unpredictable access pattern described—data accessed frequently for a few days then rarely—while ensuring data is available within minutes (milliseconds latency). It minimizes storage costs by charging lower rates for infrequently accessed data without requiring manual lifecycle management.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
S3 Standard
Why it's wrong here
Standard is expensive for data that becomes rarely accessed.
- ✓
S3 Intelligent-Tiering
Why this is correct
Automatically optimizes costs for unknown or changing access patterns, with millisecond retrieval.
- ✗
S3 Glacier Deep Archive
Why it's wrong here
Retrieval takes hours, not minutes.
- ✗
S3 One Zone-Infrequent Access
Why it's wrong here
Not resilient; data loss if AZ fails.
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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Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on SAP-C02
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company is building a new data lake on AWS. The data is stored in Amazon S3 and will be queried using Amazon Athena. The company wants to minimize query costs. Which S3 storage class should the company use for the data?
easy- A.S3 Intelligent-Tiering
- ✓ B.S3 Standard
- C.S3 Glacier Deep Archive
- D.S3 One Zone-IA
Why B: S3 Standard is the most suitable storage class for Athena queries because it provides low-latency access with no retrieval charges. Athena query costs are based on the amount of data scanned, not on the storage class. However, other storage classes like S3 Intelligent-Tiering can incur monitoring fees and may transition data to colder tiers, resulting in retrieval costs that increase total cost of ownership. S3 Glacier Deep Archive and S3 One Zone-IA are not optimal due to retrieval delays and costs or reduced durability. Therefore, to minimize query costs, S3 Standard is the best choice among the options.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SAP-C02 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 SAP-C02 exam.