PAS-C01 Technology Practice Question
An SAP HANA database is running on an EC2 instance with EBS volumes. The operations team needs to take nightly backups of the database. Which AWS service provides the most cost-effective backup solution for long-term retention?
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 most cost-effective storage class for long-term retention of backups that are accessed infrequently. Amazon EBS Snapshots are stored in S3 but cost more for long-term retention. AWS Backup is a service but does not change storage class. Amazon S3 Standard is expensive for long-term.
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 S3 Glacier Deep Archive
Why this is correct
Glacier Deep Archive is the lowest cost storage for long-term backups.
- ✗
Amazon EBS Snapshots
Why it's wrong here
EBS Snapshots are incremental but cost more for long-term storage.
- ✗
Amazon S3 Standard
Why it's wrong here
S3 Standard is more expensive for long-term retention.
- ✗
AWS Backup
Why it's wrong here
AWS Backup can use different storage classes but not as cost-effective as Glacier Deep Archive.
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.