Describe considerations for working with non-relational data on Azure →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
DP-900 Practice Question: Describe considerations for working with non-relational data on Azure
A company stores backup files in Azure Blob Storage. The backups are taken daily and must be retained for 7 years. The backup files are rarely accessed after the first month. The company wants to minimize storage costs while ensuring that backups are available for retrieval within 5 hours when needed. Which storage tier should they use after the first month?
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
✓
Cool tier
The Cool tier is the most cost-effective option that meets the 5-hour retrieval requirement. Archive tier retrieval can take up to 15 hours, which exceeds the requirement. Hot tier and Premium tier are more expensive and designed for frequent access, not long-term retention with minimal access.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Archive tier
Why it's wrong here
The Archive tier has the lowest storage price, but it stores data in an offline state and requires a rehydration step before any read operation. Rehydration to the Hot or Cool tier can take anywhere from a few minutes to up to 15 hours, depending on the priority you choose. Because the company's recovery requirement is 5 hours, Archive can miss that SLA and is therefore not a valid choice here.
- ✓
Cool tier
Why this is correct
Cool tier is the right fit because it is designed for data that is rarely accessed but must be immediately available when needed. Storage costs are significantly lower than Hot and Premium, while retrieval latency remains in the order of minutes, comfortably meeting the 5-hour availability requirement. Although per-GB retrieval and early-deletion charges apply, for long-lived backup files the overall cost is minimized.
- ✗
Hot tier
Why it's wrong here
Hot tier is optimized for frequent reads and writes, so it provides the lowest latency and highest reliability, but it charges the highest storage price among the standard tiers. Storing rarely accessed backup files in Hot means paying a large premium for performance and availability you do not need. Fast retrieval is not the bottleneck here — cost is — so Hot fails to minimize expenses.
- ✗
Premium tier
Why it's wrong here
Premium tier uses high-performance SSD-backed storage and is intended for latency-sensitive enterprise applications, such as VHDs or interactive workloads, not bulk backup archives. It carries the highest per-gigabyte cost of all tiers, making it economically unreasonable for files that are only accessed occasionally. Because backups do not need sub-10-millisecond access, this tier is overkill and violates the cost-minimization goal.
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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