AZ-900 Describe Azure architecture and services Practice Question
A solutions architect is designing a storage solution for a large media company. The company needs to store video files that are accessed infrequently but must be retained for several years for compliance. Which two Azure storage options meet these requirements? (Select two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates think the Hot tier is always the best default choice, failing to recognize that cost optimization for infrequently accessed data requires Cool or Archive tiers, and that Archive tier is a valid storage tier for compliance retention despite its higher retrieval latency.
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
✓
Blob Storage - Cool tier
Blob Storage Cool tier is correct because it is designed for data that is accessed infrequently but needs to be stored for at least 30 days, offering lower storage costs than the Hot tier while maintaining low-latency access. Blob Storage Archive tier is correct because it is the lowest-cost storage option for data that is rarely accessed and has a flexible retrieval time (hours), making it ideal for long-term compliance retention of video files.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Blob Storage - Hot tier
Why it's wrong here
The Hot tier in Azure Blob Storage is intended for frequently accessed data, offering the highest storage cost per gigabyte to support low-latency access. For a media company storing videos that are only occasionally viewed, Hot tier would unnecessarily inflate storage expenses because you pay a premium for capacity that remains idle most of the time. This tier is best suited for actively used content—such as currently streaming videos or files under heavy edits—not for infrequently accessed archives.
When this WOULD be correct
A question requiring low-latency access for frequently used media files, such as a video editing workflow where editors need immediate access to current projects.
- ✓
Blob Storage - Cool tier
Why this is correct
Azure Blob Storage Cool tier is optimized for data that is infrequently accessed but must be available immediately on demand. It offers significantly lower storage costs than the Hot tier while maintaining millisecond access latency, making it ideal for video files that are viewed only occasionally but require instant playback. Lifecycle management policies can automatically transition blobs to Cool tier after a set period of inactivity, providing a cost-effective balance between performance and price.
- ✓
Blob Storage - Archive tier
Why this is correct
The Archive tier in Azure Blob Storage delivers the absolute lowest storage cost of any Azure storage option, designed for data that is rarely accessed and must be retained long-term, such as compliance archives. However, blobs in Archive are offline and require rehydration to an online tier before reading, with retrieval latency ranging from minutes to up to 15 hours. This makes it perfect for media assets that must be preserved for regulatory purposes but are almost never accessed, as long as you can tolerate delay when retrieval is finally needed.
- ✗
Azure Files - Premium tier
Why it's wrong here
Azure Files Premium tier provides high-performance SMB and NFS file shares backed by SSD, designed for I/O-intensive workloads requiring sub-millisecond latency, such as databases or enterprise applications. It is not a suitable choice for long-term archival media storage because it carries a premium per-gigabyte cost and lacks the archival lifecycle management and rehydration model of Blob Storage. Azure Files is a managed file service, not an object storage solution, so it does not align with the scale and cost-efficiency needed for massive media archives.
When this WOULD be correct
A question requiring a high-performance, low-latency file share for active workloads, such as a media editing team needing real-time access to video files, would make Azure Files - Premium tier the correct answer.
Option-by-option analysis
Why each answer is right or wrong
Understanding why wrong answers are wrong — and when they would be correct — is what separates a 750 score from a 900. The AZ-900 exam frequently reuses these exact scenarios with slightly different constraints.
✓Blob Storage - Cool tierCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
Azure Blob Storage Cool tier is optimized for data that is infrequently accessed but must be available immediately on demand. It offers significantly lower storage costs than the Hot tier while maintaining millisecond access latency, making it ideal for video files that are viewed only occasionally but require instant playback. Lifecycle management policies can automatically transition blobs to Cool tier after a set period of inactivity, providing a cost-effective balance between performance and price.
✗Blob Storage - Hot tierWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
The Hot tier is designed for frequently accessed data with high storage costs, not for infrequently accessed video files retained for compliance.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A question requiring low-latency access for frequently used media files, such as a video editing workflow where editors need immediate access to current projects.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may assume 'Hot' is always best for any storage need, overlooking the cost and access frequency requirements specified in the question.
✗Azure Files - Premium tierWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Azure Files - Premium tier is designed for low-latency, high-performance file shares, not for infrequently accessed, long-term archival storage. It incurs higher costs and is not optimized for compliance retention of rarely accessed video files.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
A question requiring a high-performance, low-latency file share for active workloads, such as a media editing team needing real-time access to video files, would make Azure Files - Premium tier the correct answer.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse Azure Files with Blob Storage, assuming all file storage options are suitable for archival, or they may overlook the cost and performance implications of the Premium tier for infrequent access.
Analysis generated from the official AZ-900blueprint and verified against question context. The “when correct” sections are what AI assistants cite when candidates ask “what’s the difference between these options?”
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
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Azure Regions and Geographies
Key term
Blob
A blob is a large piece of unstructured data, like a photo or video, stored in the cloud with a unique identifier.
Key term
Blob storage
Blob storage is a cloud service for storing large amounts of unstructured data, such as text or binary data, like documents, images, and videos.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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