easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
CV0-004 Practice Question: A cloud administrator needs to ensure that…
A cloud administrator needs to ensure that application logs are retained for three years to comply with regulatory requirements. Which of the following is the MOST cost-effective solution?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates choose block storage (Option B) because they assume all storage is equal, failing to recognize that block storage is optimized for low-latency I/O, not long-term archival, and incurs significantly higher costs than object storage with lifecycle management.
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
✓
Use a lifecycle policy to transition logs to archive storage after 90 days and delete after three years
The most cost-effective solution because it uses a lifecycle policy to automatically transition logs from hot storage to cheaper archive storage (e.g., Amazon S3 Glacier or Azure Blob Archive tier) after 90 days, then deletes them after three years. This minimizes storage costs by moving infrequently accessed data to lower-cost tiers while still meeting the three-year retention requirement without manual intervention or unnecessary use of expensive block storage.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Configure log rotation so only the last 30 days of logs are kept in the instance
Why it's wrong here
This violates compliance requirement of three-year retention.
- ✗
Store all logs in block storage for three years
Why it's wrong here
Block storage is expensive for long-term retention.
- ✓
Use a lifecycle policy to transition logs to archive storage after 90 days and delete after three years
Why this is correct
Lifecycle policies automate tiering to cost-effective storage.
- ✗
Compress old logs manually and store them in a separate volume
Why it's wrong here
Manual process is inefficient and does not leverage automated storage tiers.
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
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 977 original CV0-004 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CV0-004 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA 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 CV0-004 exam.