SAP-C02 Amazon S3 Storage Classes Practice Question
A company uses AWS CloudTrail to log API activity. The compliance team requires that logs be stored for 7 years and be immediately accessible for the first 90 days, after which access can take up to 12 hours. Which storage solution meets these requirements cost-effectively?
⚠ Common exam trap
The key trap is confusing the cost and retrieval time trade-offs between S3 Glacier and S3 Glacier Deep Archive. While both can achieve up to 12 hours retrieval (Glacier via Bulk, Deep Archive via Standard retrieval), Deep Archive is significantly cheaper for long-term storage, making it the most cost-effective choice when such retrieval times are acceptable.
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
✓
Store logs in Amazon S3 Standard for 90 days, then transition to Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive.
S3 Standard provides immediate access for the first 90 days, and then transitioning to S3 Glacier Deep Archive (retrieval time up to 12 hours) meets the 7-year retention requirement at the lowest cost. Option A is wrong: while S3 Glacier can also provide retrieval within 12 hours (via its Bulk retrieval option), S3 Glacier Deep Archive is more cost-effective for long-term archival with comparable retrieval times. Option B is wrong: S3 One Zone-Infrequent Access is not durable enough for compliance (single Availability Zone) and deleting after 90 days does not satisfy the 7-year retention requirement. Option D is wrong: S3 Standard-Infrequent Access is for infrequent access but transitioning to S3 Standard is more expensive, and the lifecycle policy does not achieve the 7-year retention.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Store logs in Amazon S3 Standard for 90 days, then transition to Amazon S3 Glacier for the remainder.
Why it's wrong here
S3 Glacier's standard retrieval takes hours but its minimum storage duration and retrieval fees make it workable; however Glacier Flexible Retrieval, not Glacier Instant Retrieval, matches the 12-hour window. Glacier suits long-term archives where immediate access is unnecessary.
- ✗
Store logs in Amazon S3 One Zone-Infrequent Access for 90 days, then delete.
Why it's wrong here
One Zone-IA stores data in a single Availability Zone and is deleted after 90 days, so nothing survives the seven-year retention requirement. One Zone-IA suits reproducible, non-critical data held briefly, not compliance logs needing long-term archival.
- ✓
Store logs in Amazon S3 Standard for 90 days, then transition to Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive.
Why this is correct
S3 Lifecycle transitions objects from S3 Standard to Glacier Deep Archive after 90 days, satisfying the immediate-access requirement for the first 90 days and the 12-hour retrieval tolerance thereafter. Deep Archive is the cheapest S3 class for 7-year retention, meeting the cost-effectiveness constraint.
- ✗
Store logs in Amazon S3 Standard-Infrequent Access for 90 days, then transition to Amazon S3 Standard.
Why it's wrong here
Transitioning to S3 Standard after 90 days raises storage cost for years of rarely accessed logs, and Standard offers no 12-hour retrieval tier. Standard-IA suits long-lived infrequent data; the requirement needs an archival class such as Glacier Flexible Retrieval.
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
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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