This AZ-305 practice question tests your understanding of design data storage solutions. 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. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. 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 are designing a solution to store large binary files (videos) that are accessed infrequently but must be retained for 7 years for compliance. The solution must minimize storage costs while allowing retrieval within 24 hours. 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.
Premium tier
Why wrong: Premium tier is for high-performance, not archival.
Cool tier
Why wrong: Cool tier is for infrequent access but still more expensive than Archive.
Hot tier
Why wrong: Hot tier is for frequently accessed data and is costly for long-term retention.
Archive tier
Archive tier is lowest cost for long-term retention with retrieval within hours.
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 tier
The Archive tier is the correct choice because it is the lowest-cost storage tier for infrequently accessed data that must be retained for long periods (7 years). It allows retrieval within 24 hours via standard rehydration, meeting the compliance requirement while minimizing storage costs. The other tiers (Premium, Hot, Cool) are more expensive and designed for higher-frequency access, making them unsuitable for this cost-optimization scenario.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Premium tier
Why it's wrong here
Premium tier is for high-performance, not archival.
Cool tier
Why it's wrong here
Cool tier is for infrequent access but still more expensive than Archive.
Hot tier
Why it's wrong here
Hot tier is for frequently accessed data and is costly for long-term retention.
Archive tier
Why this is correct
Archive tier is lowest cost for long-term retention with retrieval within hours.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often choose Cool tier because they see 'infrequent access' and '24-hour retrieval' and mistakenly think Archive's retrieval time is too slow, but the question explicitly allows up to 24 hours, making Archive the correct cost-optimized choice.
Detailed technical explanation
The Archive tier stores data offline and requires a rehydration process (changing the blob tier to Hot or Cool) before reading, which can take up to 15 hours for standard priority or up to 24 hours for high priority. This rehydration incurs read and data transfer costs, but for infrequent access (e.g., once every few years), the storage cost savings (typically 80-90% less than Hot tier) far outweigh these retrieval costs. In a real-world scenario, compliance data like video logs for financial audits often uses Archive tier with lifecycle management policies to automatically transition from Hot to Cool to Archive over time.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
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
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FAQ
Design data storage solutions — This question tests Design data storage solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Archive tier — The Archive tier is the correct choice because it is the lowest-cost storage tier for infrequently accessed data that must be retained for long periods (7 years). It allows retrieval within 24 hours via standard rehydration, meeting the compliance requirement while minimizing storage costs. The other tiers (Premium, Hot, Cool) are more expensive and designed for higher-frequency access, making them unsuitable for this cost-optimization scenario.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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