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Question 621 of 1,546

Cost and Performance Optimization →easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

SOA-C02 Cost and Performance Optimization Practice Question

This SOA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of cost and performance optimization. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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.

A company stores large volumes of log data in Amazon S3. The logs are accessed frequently for the first 30 days, then occasionally for the next 60 days, and after 90 days they are rarely accessed but must be retained for 7 years for compliance. The SysOps administrator wants to minimize storage costs while ensuring data is available when needed. Which S3 lifecycle policy configuration should be applied?

Clue words in this question

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

Clue: "first"
Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Clue: "minimum / minimize"
Why it matters: Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.

Question 1easymultiple choice

Full question →

A
Transition objects to S3 Standard-IA after 30 days, and to S3 Glacier after 60 days. Delete after 7 years.
Why wrong: Transitioning to Glacier after 60 days is too aggressive because the data is still accessed occasionally until 90 days. Retrieval from Glacier incurs additional time and cost. Also, Glacier is not the cheapest for long-term archival; Glacier Deep Archive is cheaper.
B
Transition objects to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 30 days, and delete after 7 years.
Why wrong: Moving data to Deep Archive after only 30 days is not cost-effective because the data is still frequently accessed in the first 30 days. Retrieval from Deep Archive takes hours and incurs significant costs, making it unsuitable for data that needs quick access.
C
Transition objects to S3 One Zone-IA after 30 days, and to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 90 days. Delete after 7 years.
Why wrong: S3 One Zone-IA does not provide the same durability as Standard-IA. For compliance data that must be retained for 7 years, using One Zone-IA increases the risk of data loss if the single Availability Zone fails. Standard-IA is the safer and still cost-effective choice.
D
Transition objects to S3 Standard-IA after 30 days, and to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 90 days. Delete after 7 years.
This lifecycle policy matches the access patterns: frequent access -> Standard-IA after 30 days, occasional access for next 60 days (still in IA), then rarely accessed -> Deep Archive after 90 days. Deep Archive is the lowest-cost storage option for long-term retention. Deleting after 7 years meets compliance. This is the most cost-effective configuration.

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

✓

Transition objects to S3 Standard-IA after 30 days, and to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 90 days. Delete after 7 years.

Option D is correct because it aligns the lifecycle transitions with the access patterns: frequent access for the first 30 days (S3 Standard), occasional access for the next 60 days (S3 Standard-IA), and rare access after 90 days (S3 Glacier Deep Archive, the lowest-cost storage class for long-term retention). The deletion after 7 years meets compliance requirements while minimizing costs by using progressively cheaper storage classes.

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.

✗
Transition objects to S3 Standard-IA after 30 days, and to S3 Glacier after 60 days. Delete after 7 years.
Why it's wrong here
Transitioning to Glacier after 60 days is too aggressive because the data is still accessed occasionally until 90 days. Retrieval from Glacier incurs additional time and cost. Also, Glacier is not the cheapest for long-term archival; Glacier Deep Archive is cheaper.
✗
Transition objects to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 30 days, and delete after 7 years.
Why it's wrong here
Moving data to Deep Archive after only 30 days is not cost-effective because the data is still frequently accessed in the first 30 days. Retrieval from Deep Archive takes hours and incurs significant costs, making it unsuitable for data that needs quick access.
✗
Transition objects to S3 One Zone-IA after 30 days, and to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 90 days. Delete after 7 years.
Why it's wrong here
S3 One Zone-IA does not provide the same durability as Standard-IA. For compliance data that must be retained for 7 years, using One Zone-IA increases the risk of data loss if the single Availability Zone fails. Standard-IA is the safer and still cost-effective choice.
✓
Transition objects to S3 Standard-IA after 30 days, and to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 90 days. Delete after 7 years.
Why this is correct
This lifecycle policy matches the access patterns: frequent access -> Standard-IA after 30 days, occasional access for next 60 days (still in IA), then rarely accessed -> Deep Archive after 90 days. Deep Archive is the lowest-cost storage option for long-term retention. Deleting after 7 years meets compliance. This is the most cost-effective configuration.
Clue confirmation
The clue words "first", "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates may choose Option A because they think S3 Glacier is the standard archival tier, but they overlook that S3 Glacier Deep Archive is cheaper for 7-year retention and that the occasional-access period (days 31–90) is better served by S3 Standard-IA, not S3 Glacier.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

S3 lifecycle policies evaluate transitions based on object age in days, and the minimum storage duration for S3 Standard-IA is 30 days; transitioning earlier incurs a prorated charge. S3 Glacier Deep Archive has a minimum storage duration of 180 days and a retrieval time of 12–48 hours, making it ideal for rarely accessed compliance data. The 90-day transition point ensures objects skip S3 Glacier (which has higher retrieval costs) and go directly to the cheapest archival tier.

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.

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 SOA-C02 question test?

Cost and Performance Optimization — This question tests Cost and Performance Optimization — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Transition objects to S3 Standard-IA after 30 days, and to S3 Glacier Deep Archive after 90 days. Delete after 7 years. — Option D is correct because it aligns the lifecycle transitions with the access patterns: frequent access for the first 30 days (S3 Standard), occasional access for the next 60 days (S3 Standard-IA), and rare access after 90 days (S3 Glacier Deep Archive, the lowest-cost storage class for long-term retention). The deletion after 7 years meets compliance requirements while minimizing costs by using progressively cheaper storage classes.

What should I do if I get this SOA-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: "first", "minimum / minimize". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

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