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AZ-305 Design data storage solutions Practice Question

Exhibit

{
  "parameters": {
    "storageAccountName": {
      "value": "mystorageaccount"
    },
    "containerName": {
      "value": "logs"
    },
    "accessTier": {
      "value": "Cool"
    },
    "replication": {
      "value": "LRS"
    }
  }
}

Refer to the exhibit. You are deploying an ARM template with the above parameters. After deployment, you need to ensure that the storage account automatically moves blobs that are not accessed for 30 days to the archive tier. What should you do?

⚠ Common exam trap

Many exam-takers confuse setting the default access tier (via 'accessTier' parameter) with automating tier transitions based on age, leading them to choose Option B instead of recognizing that lifecycle management policies are required for time-based auto-tiering.

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

✓

Add a lifecycle management policy rule to the storage account.

Azure Storage lifecycle management policies allow you to automatically move blobs to cooler tiers (like Archive) based on age or last access time. By adding a rule with a filter for blobs not accessed in 30 days and an action to tier to Archive, you meet the requirement without manual intervention or changing the default access tier.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

✗
Enable soft delete for blobs.
Why it's wrong here
Enabling soft delete for blobs is a data-protection mechanism that retains deleted or overwritten blobs for a recovery period, so it does not monitor access patterns or move data between tiers. The requirement is to automatically transition blobs to Archive after 30 days of inactivity, which is an operational cost-optimization task handled by storage lifecycle management policies. Soft delete can be used alongside lifecycle rules but does not itself perform tier transitions.
✗
Change the 'accessTier' parameter value to 'Archive'.
Why it's wrong here
Changing the 'accessTier' parameter to 'Archive' only sets the default tier for newly created blobs in the storage account; it has no effect on existing blobs and does not track access history. The requirement demands that blobs be evaluated after 30 days of no access and then automatically moved to the Archive tier, which requires a rule-based policy that examines last access or modification time. Furthermore, applying Archive as a blanket default forces all new blobs into cold storage regardless of expected use, leading to unnecessary rehydration latency if they are accessed soon. This is a static setting, not an automated, time-based transition.
✗
Change the 'replication' parameter value to 'GRS'.
Why it's wrong here
Changing the 'replication' parameter to 'GRS' (geo-redundant storage) configures synchronous secondary-region copy of your data for durability and high availability, but replication is completely orthogonal to tier transitions. The replication mechanism has no awareness of blob access times and cannot trigger archive movement based on age or pattern. The only way to meet the requirement is a lifecycle management policy rule that specifies an action to tier blobs to Archive after a defined number of days since their last access.
✓
Add a lifecycle management policy rule to the storage account.
Why this is correct
Adding a lifecycle management policy rule to the storage account is the precise mechanism required. These policies enable automated tiering of blobs based on user-defined rules. A specific rule can be configured to identify blobs that have not been accessed for 30 days and then automatically transition them to the archive tier, directly satisfying the requirement for automatic movement based on access time. This ensures efficient cost management for infrequently accessed data.

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

Go deeper

AZ-305 Design data storage solutions Practice Question

Exhibit

Why each option matters

Option-by-option breakdown

Azure Blob Storage Tier Comparison

Related to this question