AZ-305 Design data storage solutions Practice Question
A startup needs a cost-effective data storage solution for its application logs. The logs are accessed infrequently but must be available for audit purposes for up to 3 years. The solution should minimize storage costs while allowing data retrieval within 24 hours when needed. Which Azure storage tier should the company recommend?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse the Archive tier's retrieval time with the Hot or Cool tiers, assuming Archive is too slow for any audit requirement, but the 24-hour SLA for high-priority rehydration makes it suitable for this scenario.
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 Archive tier
The Archive tier is the most cost-effective option for data that is infrequently accessed and requires retrieval times of up to 15 hours (standard) or 24 hours (high-priority). Since the logs must be available within 24 hours and stored for up to 3 years, Archive meets both the cost and retrieval requirements, as it offers the lowest storage cost among Azure Blob Storage tiers.
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 Cool tier
Why it's wrong here
The Cool tier is designed for data that is infrequently accessed but must be immediately available when needed. It offers lower storage costs than Hot but incurs a minimum 30-day retention and a per-GB early deletion fee, and its storage price is still higher than Archive. For a startup whose priority is minimizing cost for rarely accessed data, choosing Cool would miss the point because Archive eliminates the need for online availability and is cheaper per GB.
- ✗
Azure Blob Storage Hot tier
Why it's wrong here
The Hot tier is optimized for scenarios with frequent, high-throughput reads and writes, so it carries a higher per-GB storage price than Cool or Archive. A startup that only occasionally accesses data would end up paying a premium for every stored byte, even during idle periods, with no corresponding benefit. Additionally, while Hot has no minimum retention penalty, the storage cost alone makes it an unsustainable choice for a cost-sensitive, rarely accessed dataset.
- ✓
Azure Blob Storage Archive tier
Why this is correct
The Archive tier is Azure's most economical storage option for data that is rarely accessed and can tolerate a retrieval latency of up to 15 hours because the blob must be rehydrated to Hot or Cool before reading. It is ideal for long-term retention, backup archives, and compliance records, with the lowest per-GB storage price. This directly satisfies the startup's need for a cost-effective solution for infrequently accessed data.
- ✗
Azure Blob Storage Premium tier
Why it's wrong here
The Premium tier is built on high-performance SSDs and delivers sub-millisecond latency for frequently executed transactions, making it the most expensive per-GB option in Azure Blob Storage. It is intended for interactive, latency-sensitive workloads, not for data that sits idle for extended periods. For a startup trying to keep storage costs down, Premium would be wasteful because you are paying for speed and transactional consistency that the workload does not require.
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
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