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CV0-004 Practice Question: Using a cloud provider's object storage for…
A company is using a cloud provider's object storage for archival data. The data is rarely accessed but must be retained for 7 years for compliance. The current storage class is Standard, and the monthly bill is increasing. The cloud administrator wants to minimize costs while meeting compliance requirements. The data must be accessible within 24 hours if needed. Which of the following actions should the administrator take?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to think moving data to a cold storage tier (Option C) is the best immediate action, but they overlook that a lifecycle policy (Option D) automates the transition and avoids manual intervention, which is more efficient and cost-effective over time.
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 objects to a cheaper storage class after a period.
A lifecycle policy automates the transition of objects from a higher-cost storage class (e.g., Standard) to a cheaper class (e.g., S3 Glacier Deep Archive or Azure Archive) after a specified period, reducing costs while retaining data for the required 7 years. The data remains accessible within 24 hours via a restore request, meeting the compliance and retrieval time requirement.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Compress the objects using server-side encryption.
Why it's wrong here
Compression reduces data size but not storage class cost; encryption does not affect cost.
- ✗
Delete the objects after 7 years to save cost.
Why it's wrong here
Deleting before 7 years would violate compliance requirements.
- ✗
Move the data to a cold storage tier like Glacier or Archive.
Why it's wrong here
Direct move may be cost-effective for storage but retrieval costs and time may vary; lifecycle policy is more flexible.
- ✓
Use a lifecycle policy to transition objects to a cheaper storage class after a period.
Why this is correct
Lifecycle policies automate transition to lower-cost storage (e.g., after 30 days to Infrequent Access, then to Glacier), optimizing cost while retaining data.
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
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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.