This AZ-204 practice question tests your understanding of develop for azure storage. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. A key principle to apply: archive tier offers the lowest storage cost per GB for Azure Blob Storage.. 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.
You need to store terabytes of archival data that must be retained for 10 years. The data is accessed once or twice per year. You need to minimize storage costs. Which Azure Storage tier should you use?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
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.
Cool
Why wrong: Cool tier has higher storage cost than Archive and is suitable for data accessed more than once a year.
Hot
Why wrong: Hot tier is for frequent access and has the highest storage cost.
Archive
Archive tier offers the lowest storage cost for long-term archival data with rare access.
Premium
Why wrong: Premium tier provides high-performance, low-latency access but is very expensive for archival storage.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Archive
The Archive tier is designed for data that is rarely accessed (a few times per year or less) and has a flexible retrieval latency of several hours, making it ideal for long-term retention of terabytes of archival data for 10 years at the lowest storage cost. It offers the lowest per-GB storage price among Azure Blob Storage tiers, directly meeting the requirement to minimize costs for infrequently accessed data.
Key principle: Archive tier offers the lowest storage cost per GB for Azure Blob Storage.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Cool
Why it's wrong here
Cool tier has higher storage cost than Archive and is suitable for data accessed more than once a year.
Hot
Why it's wrong here
Hot tier is for frequent access and has the highest storage cost.
Archive
Why this is correct
Archive tier offers the lowest storage cost for long-term archival data with rare access.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Archive tier offers the lowest storage cost per GB for Azure Blob Storage.
Premium
Why it's wrong here
Premium tier provides high-performance, low-latency access but is very expensive for archival storage.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse 'infrequent access' with 'archival access' and pick the Cool tier, forgetting that the Archive tier is specifically designed for data accessed only a few times per year and offers significantly lower storage costs for long-term retention.
Detailed technical explanation
The Archive tier stores data offline with a blob rehydration time of up to 15 hours (standard priority) or 1 hour (high priority), during which the blob is copied to an online tier (Hot or Cool) for access. Under the hood, Azure uses erasure coding and geo-redundant storage (GRS) by default for Archive, but you can configure read-access geo-redundant storage (RA-GRS) for additional cost. A real-world scenario is a financial institution storing 10 years of transaction logs for compliance, where the retrieval latency is acceptable because access is only for annual audits.
Key takeaway
Archive tier offers the lowest storage cost per GB for Azure Blob Storage.
Real-world example
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
Review archive tier offers the lowest storage cost per GB for Azure Blob Storage., then practise related AZ-204 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
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FAQ
Develop for Azure storage — This question tests Develop for Azure storage — Archive tier offers the lowest storage cost per GB for Azure Blob Storage..
The correct answer is: Archive — The Archive tier is designed for data that is rarely accessed (a few times per year or less) and has a flexible retrieval latency of several hours, making it ideal for long-term retention of terabytes of archival data for 10 years at the lowest storage cost. It offers the lowest per-GB storage price among Azure Blob Storage tiers, directly meeting the requirement to minimize costs for infrequently accessed data.
Review archive tier offers the lowest storage cost per GB for Azure Blob Storage., then practise related AZ-204 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.
Yes — watch for: "minimum / minimize". Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
Archive tier offers the lowest storage cost per GB for Azure Blob Storage.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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