Cloud Digital Leader Google Cloud Products and Services Practice Question
An organisation must store archival data that is accessed less than once a year. They need the lowest storage cost and can tolerate a retrieval time of several hours. Which Cloud Storage class should they use?
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
✓
Archive
Archive storage is the cheapest storage class, designed for data accessed less than once a year with retrieval times in hours.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Coldline
Why it's wrong here
Coldline is a low-cost storage class intended for data accessed less than once per quarter, with retrieval typically available in seconds. However, for true archival data that is accessed extremely rarely, Archive offers a lower storage price and is designed for that purpose, whereas Coldline's minimum storage duration is only 90 days. While Coldline is cheaper than Standard and Nearline, it still costs more than Archive, making it the wrong choice when the organization's primary need is economical long-term archival.
- ✗
Nearline
Why it's wrong here
Nearline is a storage class for data accessed less than once per month, with sub-second retrieval and a 30-day minimum storage duration. It strikes a balance between cost and availability, but it is not optimized for archival data because it is more expensive than Archive and is intended for data you might occasionally need quickly. For an organization storing archival data that is rarely accessed, Nearline's access-frequency threshold is too generous, so it would incur unnecessary costs compared to the Archive class.
- ✗
Standard
Why it's wrong here
Standard is the default storage class for frequently accessed data, offering no retrieval charges and no minimum storage duration, but at the highest storage cost. Using Standard for archival data would be wasteful because it lacks the significant cost reductions of colder storage classes and does not align with the access patterns of archival data, which is infrequently retrieved. Since the organization wants to store archival data cost-effectively, Standard's premium pricing makes it an inappropriate option.
- ✓
Archive
Why this is correct
Archive is the lowest-cost storage class in Google Cloud Storage, specifically designed for long-term backup and archival data that is accessed less than once per year. It offers the cheapest storage price, but retrieval times are typically hours (or even up to 365 days for some operations), and it imposes a 365-day minimum storage duration. For an organization storing archival data that is rarely accessed, Archive provides the optimal balance of cost efficiency and suitability, making it the correct choice.
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
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Cloud Digital Transformation
Key term
Cloud storage
Cloud storage is a service that lets you save data on remote servers accessed over the internet instead of on your computer's hard drive.
Key term
Storage class
A storage class is a category of data storage that defines how data is stored, accessed, retrieved, and billed in a cloud environment.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This GCDL practice question is part of Courseiva's free Google Cloud 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 GCDL exam.