SAP-C02 Design for New Solutions Practice Question

Which TWO design patterns help ensure data durability in Amazon S3?

⚠ Common exam trap

SAP-C02 often tests the distinction between durability (protecting data from loss) and availability/cost (storage classes, lifecycle) — the trap is selecting MFA Delete or Glacier transitions, which are security/cost controls, not durability patterns.

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 Cross-Region Replication (CRR).

Option A (Enable Cross-Region Replication) is correct because CRR automatically replicates objects to a destination bucket in a different AWS Region, so data survives a regional outage or the loss of the source bucket, directly improving durability. Option B (Enable S3 Versioning) is correct because it keeps multiple distinct versions of every object, so an overwrite or delete of the current version does not destroy the prior data, allowing recovery of earlier versions. Option C (MFA Delete) only adds an authentication requirement for deleting versions or changing versioning state; it is a protective control, not a durability mechanism. Option D (S3 Standard-IA) is a cost-optimized storage class that changes retrieval pricing and availability characteristics, not the underlying durability of the data. Option E (lifecycle transition to Glacier) is a cost/archival management action that moves objects to cheaper storage, and does not by itself increase durability.

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 Cross-Region Replication (CRR).
Why this is correct
Cross-Region Replication asynchronously copies objects to a bucket in another AWS Region, so data survives a regional outage or account-level event. This directly satisfies the durability requirement by providing an independent replica outside the source Region.
✓
Enable S3 Versioning.
Why this is correct
Versioning retains every prior object version, so an overwrite or delete creates a new version rather than destroying the original data. This directly satisfies the durability requirement by enabling recovery of accidentally deleted or overwritten objects, complementing S3's built-in cross-AZ replication.
✗
Enable MFA Delete.
Why it's wrong here
MFA Delete adds security for delete operations, not durability.
✗
Use S3 Standard-IA storage class.
Why it's wrong here
IA is for infrequent access, not increased durability.
✗
Configure lifecycle policies to transition to Glacier.
Why it's wrong here
Lifecycle policies manage storage cost, not durability.

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

SAP-C02 Design for New Solutions Practice Question

Why each option matters

Option-by-option breakdown

AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison

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