Google PCA Practice Question: Analysing and Optimising Technical and Business Processes
A company wants to reduce Cloud Storage costs for archival data that is accessed less than once a year. They have data stored in Standard storage class. Which TWO actions should they take? (Choose TWO.)
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 rule to delete objects that are older than 365 days
Using lifecycle policies to transition from Standard to Archive storage class reduces cost for rarely accessed data. Also, deleting unnecessary objects reduces storage. Coldline is for 90 days, Nearline for 30 days; Archive is for long-term archival. Changing object names does not reduce cost.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Use a lifecycle rule to delete objects that are older than 365 days
Why this is correct
If data is truly unneeded, deleting it eliminates storage costs entirely.
- ✗
Set a lifecycle rule to transition objects older than 90 days to Coldline storage class
Why it's wrong here
Coldline is for data accessed less than once a quarter, not less than once a year. Archive is cheaper.
- ✗
Rename objects to start with 'archive/' to reduce costs
Why it's wrong here
Object naming does not affect storage costs. Cost is based on storage class and amount of data.
- ✓
Set a lifecycle rule to transition objects older than 365 days to Archive storage class
Why this is correct
Archive storage class is the cheapest for long-term archival data accessed less than once a year.
- ✗
Set a lifecycle rule to transition objects older than 30 days to Nearline storage class
Why it's wrong here
Nearline is for data accessed less than once a month, not less than once a year. It is more expensive than Archive.
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
Learn chapter
Introduction to Google Cloud Platform
Key term
Data
Data is raw, unprocessed information, like numbers, words, or measurements, that can be stored, processed, and analyzed by computers.
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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