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Security Logging and Monitoring →hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

Choosing S3 Glacier Deep Archive for Long-Term Log Retention

This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of security logging and monitoring. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.

An organization has a requirement to retain all security logs for at least 7 years for compliance. The logs are stored in Amazon S3 and are rarely accessed. Which storage class is the MOST cost-effective for this retention period?

Clue words in this question

Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.

Clue: "least"
Why it matters: You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.

A
S3 Glacier Deep Archive
Lowest cost for long-term archival with retrieval time of 12 hours.
B
S3 Standard
Why wrong: Standard is for frequent access, not cost-effective for 7-year retention.
C
S3 One Zone-IA
Why wrong: One Zone-IA is for infrequent access but not as cheap as Deep Archive for long term.
D
S3 Intelligent-Tiering
Why wrong: Intelligent-Tiering automatically moves data, but Glacier Deep Archive is cheaper.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

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 Glacier Deep Archive

S3 Glacier Deep Archive is the most cost-effective storage class for data that is rarely accessed and must be retained for 7 years. It offers the lowest storage cost among S3 classes, designed specifically for long-term retention of archival data where retrieval times of 12 hours are acceptable. The compliance requirement for 7-year retention aligns perfectly with Glacier Deep Archive's intended use case, minimizing costs while meeting the retention mandate.

Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.

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 Glacier Deep Archive
Why this is correct
Lowest cost for long-term archival with retrieval time of 12 hours.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "least" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
S3 Standard
Why it's wrong here
Standard is for frequent access, not cost-effective for 7-year retention.
✗
S3 One Zone-IA
Why it's wrong here
One Zone-IA is for infrequent access but not as cheap as Deep Archive for long term.
✗
S3 Intelligent-Tiering
Why it's wrong here
Intelligent-Tiering automatically moves data, but Glacier Deep Archive is cheaper.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates often choose S3 Intelligent-Tiering thinking it automatically optimizes costs for long-term storage, but they overlook the per-object monitoring fee and the fact that for data that is never accessed after initial storage, Glacier Deep Archive is cheaper because it has no automation overhead.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

S3 Glacier Deep Archive uses a redundant storage infrastructure across multiple Availability Zones, providing 99.999999999% durability, which is critical for compliance logs. Retrieval times are typically 12 hours for standard restores, but for rarely accessed logs, this is acceptable. Under the hood, objects are stored in a compressed and encrypted format, and the storage cost is approximately $0.00099 per GB/month, which is significantly lower than S3 Standard-IA ($0.0125 per GB/month) or S3 One Zone-IA ($0.01 per GB/month), making it the optimal choice for 7-year retention.

KKey Concepts to Remember

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.

TExam Day Tips

Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.

Key takeaway

Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.

Real-world example

How this comes up in practice

A startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.

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

What to study next

Got this wrong? Here's your next step.

Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this SCS-C02 question test?

Security Logging and Monitoring — This question tests Security Logging and Monitoring — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: S3 Glacier Deep Archive — S3 Glacier Deep Archive is the most cost-effective storage class for data that is rarely accessed and must be retained for 7 years. It offers the lowest storage cost among S3 classes, designed specifically for long-term retention of archival data where retrieval times of 12 hours are acceptable. The compliance requirement for 7-year retention aligns perfectly with Glacier Deep Archive's intended use case, minimizing costs while meeting the retention mandate.

What should I do if I get this SCS-C02 question wrong?

Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.

Are there clue words in this question I should notice?

Yes — watch for: "least". You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

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This SCS-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 SCS-C02 exam.