PAS-C01 Technology Practice Question
A company wants to ensure that their SAP HANA database backups are stored securely and can be retained for 7 years for compliance. Which AWS service should they use to archive the backups?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to choose Amazon S3 Intelligent-Tiering because it automates cost savings, but they overlook that it does not include the deep archive tier and incurs additional monitoring costs, making it less suitable for long-term, infrequently accessed backups compared to Glacier Deep Archive.
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
✓
Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive
Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive is the correct choice because it provides the lowest-cost storage class designed for long-term retention of data that is accessed infrequently, with a default retrieval time of 12 hours. This meets the 7-year compliance requirement for SAP HANA backups while minimizing storage costs, as the backups are unlikely to be accessed frequently after the initial retention period.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Amazon EBS Snapshots
Why it's wrong here
EBS snapshots are for point-in-time backups of volumes, not designed for archival at scale.
- ✓
Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive
Why this is correct
Glacier Deep Archive provides the lowest cost for 7-year retention, meeting compliance requirements.
- ✗
Amazon S3 Intelligent-Tiering
Why it's wrong here
Intelligent-Tiering is for data with changing access patterns, not optimal for pure archival.
- ✗
Amazon S3 Standard
Why it's wrong here
S3 Standard is for frequently accessed data and has higher cost for long-term retention.
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
This PAS-C01 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 PAS-C01 exam.