AZ-305 Design data storage solutions Practice Question
A media company stores raw video files and processed output in Azure. These files are accessed via REST APIs by a processing application. After processing, the files are rarely accessed but must be retained. To minimize costs, the company wants to automatically move files to a cheaper storage tier after 30 days and archive them after 90 days. Which Azure storage solution and feature should they use?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse Azure Files or Azure NetApp Files with object storage, not realizing that only Azure Blob Storage supports REST API access and automated lifecycle tiering to cool and archive tiers.
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
✓
Azure Blob Storage with lifecycle management policies
Azure Blob Storage with lifecycle management policies is correct because it allows you to define rules that automatically transition blobs from the hot tier to the cool tier after 30 days and then to the archive tier after 90 days. This directly meets the cost-minimization requirement for rarely accessed files that must be retained, as lifecycle management automates tier transitions without manual intervention.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Azure Blob Storage with lifecycle management policies
Why this is correct
Blob Storage is the only service here with built-in lifecycle management that can automatically transition media files across hot, cool, cold, and archive tiers based on age or last modification. For raw videos and processed output, rules can move older data to cool after 30 days and to archive after 90 days, optimizing cost without manual intervention. Access tiers are native to blobs, so this directly fits the requirement.
- ✗
Azure Files with snapshot schedules
Why it's wrong here
Azure Files does support share snapshots for point-in-time recovery, but snapshots capture a read-only copy for backup, not a data-movement mechanism. Although Azure Files has its own hot and cool share tiers, you cannot define Blob Storage-style lifecycle management policies to transition data between those tiers automatically or send it to archive storage. Tiering would require manual changes or separate Azure File Sync rules, so it fails the automated cost-optimization requirement.
- ✗
Azure Disk Storage with incremental snapshots
Why it's wrong here
Azure Disk Storage is designed for VM operating-system and data disks, where snapshots (including incremental snapshots) capture disk state for backup and disaster recovery, not for file tiering. Incremental snapshots are stored as page blobs and can be used to restore a VM disk, but they do not offer access tiers like archive or lifecycle rules that move data based on policy. They also preserve only the changes since the last snapshot, making them a backup mechanism, not a media-file archival solution.
- ✗
Azure NetApp Files with snapshot policies
Why it's wrong here
Azure NetApp Files provides high-performance file storage for specialized workloads; its snapshot policies create lightweight, point-in-time read-only copies for rapid recovery. Those snapshots are stored within the same NetApp volume and consume capacity, and NetApp does not offer a built-in automated lifecycle policy to tier snapshots or volume data into Azure Archive. While you can resize capacity pools or set service levels, that only optimizes performance, not the long-term storage cost of raw and processed video files.
Quick reference
Azure Blob Storage Tier Comparison
| Tier | Storage Cost | Retrieval Cost | Latency | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hot | Highest | Lowest | Immediate | Active data, frequent reads |
| Cool | Lower | Higher | Immediate | Data accessed < once / month |
| Cold | Lower still | Higher | Immediate | Data accessed < once / quarter |
| Archive | Lowest | Highest + rehydration delay | Hours | Long-term compliance retention |
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This AZ-305 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft 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 AZ-305 exam.